Annual Standards of Affiliation
All PTAs in Virginia are organized and chartered by Virginia PTA and covered under the umbrella of the Virginia PTA’s 501(c)(3) non-profit status granted by the Internal Revenue Service. This group exemption exempts your local unit from paying federal income tax on money earned, allows donations to be claimed as tax exempt and enables your local PTA unit to apply for a Virginia Sales Tax Exemption.
ALL BOARD MEMBERS, not just the Treasurer, have fiduciary responsibility to ensure your PTA has met the Standards of Affiliation and is in Good Standing with Virginia PTA.
Standards of Affiliation are defined in Virginia PTA’s Local Unit Uniform bylaws and ensure local and council PTAs maintain 501(c)3 best practices and comply with applicable federal and state laws. Standards of Affiliation are sometimes referred to as Good Standing, which generically refers to a selection of Standards of Affiliation that must be met to qualify your PTA to participate in PTA grant and awards programs.
We recommend you keep a copy of the Standards of Affiliation checklist and copies of all pertinent documentation in your legal documents or treasurer binder.
Standards of Affiliation (501c3 verification) letters will be uploaded to your MemberHub/Givebacks compliance panel AFTER your PTA has submitted ALL Good Standing materials to Virginia PTA via your MemberHub/Givebacks compliance panel. This includes a dues payment for the current fiscal year. Standard of Affiliation letters are valid from compliance due date (August 1) to compliance due date (August 1).
ANNUAL Standards of Affiliation that each PTA should upload to Givebacks include:
- Contact Information for your Executive Board (June 15)
- Proof of Insurance (June 15: Resubmit mid-year after renewal.)
- Financial Review (Audit) Report Form (August 1)
- IRS 990 Tax filing for fiscal year ending Jun 30 (August 1)
- Membership List (1st of each month. Automatic if selling memberships via Givebacks)
- Membership Dues (1st of each month. President/Treasurer must click “SEND ACH PAYMENT”)
- Bylaws Organizational Structure Form (annual or when modified)
Executive Board Contacts should be submitted to Virginia PTA annually via Givebacks/MemberHub. Not only does this ensure your PTA receives important reminders and resources, but it also provides your incoming Executive Board contacts with administrative access to your Givebacks/MemberHub account. Even if you are serving a second year of a two year term, you must submit contact information for the new fiscal year. Please remember to include your Principal and any teacher/staff liaisons to your PTA.
PTA activities can create liability and put you at risk for loss due to theft, injury, property damage and many other issues. To protect yourself and your PTA, and in accordance with your bylaws, your PTA must purchase annual insurance and provide proof of insurance to Virginia PTA by June 15th. You PTA may select any insurance provider. Many PTAs select Virginia PTA’s insurance partner, AIM Insurance. Another common carrier is RV Nuccio. If your insurance renews in the fall/winter; please upload your current insurance certificate reflecting coverage at the start of the new fiscal year. When your insurance is renewed, you should upload the new insurance coverage certificate.
Annual PTA membership dues are determined by the members of each local school PTA and includes National PTA dues of $2.25/member and Virginia PTA dues of $1.50/member. Your membership approved dues amount should be documented on your Local Unit Organizational Structure Form. Dues are collected by your local school PTA and remitted to Virginia PTA monthly. Virginia PTA remits dues monthly on behalf of your members to National PTA.
Submitting your dues on-time is part of the Standards of Affiliation and keeps your PTA in Good Standing which allows your PTA to qualify for grants and awards and enables your families to participate in the Reflections Arts Contest. Failure to submit dues will result in your unit being closed and tax exempt status revoked. ALL membership lists and dues should be submitted to Virginia PTA electronically via MemberHub. If you are selling memberships in MemberHub, submission of your Membership list is automatic, however, you must still initiate payment of your dues in MemberHub.
Many PTAs start selling memberships at the end of the school year to rising students and continuing selling memberships for the new school year through-out the summer. Please remember to remit dues by the first of year month.
Annually, every PTA is required to file a 990 with the IRS and provide a copy to Virginia PTA by August 1st in accordance with Local Unit Uniform Bylaws, which are a legally binding document for your PTA. This deadline ensures officers responsible for the fiscal year report the PTA’s income to the IRS. Additionally, it alleviates placing an undue burden on incoming officers to obtain records and information and report on a fiscal year for which they were not responsible.
FILING WITH THE IRS
Your PTA can file your 990 immediately at the end of the fiscal year. Using monthly Treasurer reporting, your PTA can determine the type of filing needed. If the PTA’s gross receipts are less than $50,000 across three consecutive years, then your PTA can file IRS Form 990N (e-postcard) on the IRS website, which takes about 5-10 minutes to complete – and can be completed prior to your annual financial review. If your PTA’s gross receipts are $50,001 or more, but less than $250,000, your PTA may file a Form 990EZ. If a PTA’s gross receipts are over $250,000 your PTA must file a full Form 990.
If your PTA fails to file taxes for 3 years in a row you risk losing your federal tax-exempt status and may need to pay IRS fees to have your tax-exempt status reinstated.
SUBMISSION TO VIRGINIA PTA
After filing with the IRS, you should provide verification to Virginia PTA that you filed and your submission was ‘ACCEPTED’. You can find acceptance verification on the IRS’s “Manage Form 990-N Submission” page. Immediately after filing your submission will show the status of “Pending.” After seven minutes, refresh the page (F5 key for Windows, Command-R for Mac) and the GET UPDATED STATUS button will be visible. The status will change from “Pending” to “Accepted” or “Rejected.”
- FILE IRS Form 990N
- 990N User Guide
- Log-In to Givebacks
- Video: How to submit Compliance Documents to Virginia PTA in Givebacks/MemberHub.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
- Units that raised more than $50,000 and have retained an accountant to prepare their 990-EZ or 990 filing may request a due date extension (to no later than Nov 15th) by submitting a 990 Exemption request prior to August 1st.
- Please ensure that the 990N verification you submit to Virginia PTA reflects the correct filing year and says “accepted”
- If your 990N filing Fails and is not accepted you may have an issue with your EIN and should immediately contact your Council PTA and Virginia PTA
The purpose of the annual Financial Review or Audit is to ensure that PTAs are following proper financial procedures, practicing financial responsibility and providing transparency for their General Membership. The Financial Review will help your PTA identify gaps and opportunities to improve financial practices and get back on track with best practices.
Timeline & Submission
Your financial review should be complete and submitted to Virginia PTA via MemberHub by August 1st. This ensures the outgoing officers report on the fiscal year they oversaw. Additionally, this allows the incoming Treasurer to fully transition into their new role at the start of August enabling the incoming Executive Board to use the valuable summer months to budget and prepare for the coming year. Your Financial Review can be uploaded immediately upon completion and presentation to the incoming Executive Board. If there are edits needed as a result of General Membership Review in the Fall, then please re-submit your audit to Virginia PTA via MemberHub. Please remember that if your Treasurer leaves office for any reason in the middle of the year, a Financial Review should be completed within three (3) weeks, before the new Treasurer takes office.
As example, for the 2021-2022 school year, the Financial Review should be completed by August 1, 2022, and uploaded to the 2022-2023 Compliance Panel in Givebacks/MemberHub.
Conducting your Financial Review
- Your Executive Board appoints a Financial Review Committee of three PTA members who were NOT authorized signers on your unit’s bank account.
- Your outgoing Treasurer prepares their books and records for review and completes the first half of the Financial Review (Audit) report.
- The Financial Review Committee conducts a materials provided by the Treasurer and completes their section of the Financial Review (Audit) Report.
- Executive Board accepts the Financial Review
- General Membership votes to adopts the Financial Review
- The president and treasurer that are in office at the time sign page 1 and scan your entire financial review (including all pages of the financial review report and any additional information from the financial review committee or auditor)
- Submit your financial review by uploading a copy to MemberHub. (Click ‘Compliance’ in the left menu and then ‘Enter State Submissions’. Note: The ‘Documents’ section of MemberHub is for file storage and does not trigger compliance submission.)
Our Sponsors
