PTA Membership

For units with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less
Before you file have this info handy:

• Your Unit Bylaws – this will have your
  organization name (name of your PTA Association exactly as it appears on the cover of your bylaws)
• school address (as listed on the cover of your bylaws)
• IRS Employer Identification Number (EIN) ( found in Article XIV, Fiscal Year and Identification Numbers, Section 3)
  fiscal year start and end date – (found in Article XIV, Fiscal Year and Identification Numbers, Section 1)
• The name and home address of a principal officer (usually president, but can be any elected officer)
• Login ID and password. If you were the preparer last year, use the same login ID and password as last year. If you are a new preparer or cannot recover your login ID or password, create a new Login ID and password when you file.
• Gross Receipts – the total amount your PTA received from all sources during the fiscal year, without subtracting any costs or expenses. This includes all the money you raised from fundraisers, donations, bank interest and the membership dues you keep in your unit (not the membership dues you forward to Council). You will find this number in your Annual Financial Report.

Step 1: Go to the IRS website:
Go to https://www.irs.gov/990n

Step 2: Log in with your Login ID and password

If you filed last year use same Login ID and password: Your Login is your EIN (Federal Tax ID number) without a dash followed by two digits at the end (01-99). The 01 thru 99 is a login id for the filer. For example, the third person to file will have an “03” after their EIN number. If you have forgotten your password, you can request that it be emailed to you using the email address given when you created the login id.
If you are a new filer: the e-filing software will create a new Login ID which will be sent to your email address.

• Step 3: Verify the information
  Your fiscal year on the e-Postcard matches your bylaws. If the IRS has the wrong fiscal year, you cannot change it on the e-Postcard. Contact your Council or Ninth District PTA to get it changed with the IRS, before filing.
  Name of Organization: It may be listed as PTA CALIFORNIA CONGRESS OF PARENTS TEACHERS & STUDENTS INC which is an umbrella name for all PTAs in California or it may list your unit name
• your Employer ID is your Unit Federal EIN
• DBA means “doing business as” – If “PTA CALIFORNIA CONGRESS OF PARENTS TEACHERS & STUDENTS INC is listed as your organization name, then input your Unit PTA name as listed on the cover of your bylaws in the DBA field.
• Mailing address is c/o (in care of) PTA president at the school address. (this ensures that any future IRS correspondence goes to the current PTA)
• If your PTA has a website (not your school website) input the website address.
• The Principal Officer is usually the president, but can be any elected officer – input their home address, not the school address.
• Answer the question about your gross receipts

Step 4: Click on SAVE CHANGES

Step 5: Click on SUBMIT

Once the IRS receives and processes your e-Postcard (usually within 30 minutes), you’ll receive an email indicating whether your e-Postcard was accepted or rejected. If accepted, you’re done for the year. If rejected, the email will tell you why it was rejected and how to correct the problem

Step 6: Make copies of your e-Postcard
To print out the e-Postcard go to the Quick Menu on the Home Page and click on “Edit/View Existing e-Postcard”
Click “View” on the right-hand side of the Control Panel. The system will take you to the Filing Status page.
Click “View Form 990-N (e-Postcard)” in the upper right-hand corner.
The system will display your e-Postcard.
Make 4 copies of the e-Postcard to give to the following:
President
Treasurer
Secretary
Council – either email or send a hard copy

Step 7: Report to the Executive Board

At your next monthly executive board meeting, report that you have filed your PTA’s federal tax return and make sure it is included in the minutes.

If you have any questions, contact your Council or Ninth District PTA. The IRS also has Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page

For units with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less

In addition to the information you need to file the federal return, you will need the following:

• Your California Entity ID number or California Corporation number – This is 7-digit number assigned to your PTA in 2010. If you have recent bylaws, you can find the number in ARTICLE XIV, FISCAL YEAR AND IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS, SECTION 7. If it’s not in your bylaws, call your council or Ninth District PTA.
• Exact amount of your gross receipts from your Annual Financial Report

Step 1:  Go to the Franchise Tax Board website: www.ftb.ca.gov

• Click on “Businesses” in blue bar
• Click on “199N e-Postcard” under Online Services
• Click on “Continue” and you will be taken to Privacy Notice page
• Click on “Continue” and you will be taken to the login page
• Enter your 7-digit Entity Number or California Corporation Number.
• Step 2:  Account Period Information 
• Make sure the name matches your PTA
• Input your account period beginning and end date (fiscal year)
• Answer the question “Is this the first year your entity was in business?”
• Answer the question “Did your entity terminate or go out of business?”
• Answer the question “Have you changed your account period?”
• Input your Gross Receipts
• Click on “Continue”

Step 3:  Entity Information

• Input your FEIN (Federal Employer Identification Number) without dashes
• Input your DBA Name (“DBA” means Doing Business As – this would be the name your PTA uses)
• Input your PTA website address if you have one – do not use the school’s website address
• Input your PTA’s mailing address (this should be the school’s address)  In the Attention field put “PTA President” not a person’s name since officer names may change.
• Input your Principal Officer’s information (this is usually the president, but can be any elected officer)
• When you get to the last page of review – read the pledge and check the box. Then click on SUBMIT.
• Print the results.

 Step 4:  Contact Information

• Name and phone number of person filing

 Step 5:  Review your information

• Review your information and read the declaration at the bottom. Click the declaration box and then click “SUBMIT”.

 Step 6:  Make 4 copies of your e-Postcard to give to the following

• President
• Treasurer
• Secretary
• Council (email or hard copy)