Where to find the Taxes for CC Directors ebook

04/19/2018 by 1 Comment

 

I know its the day AFTER tax filing season ended, but I just learned from two helpful people (thank you!!) where to find the ebook Taxes for Licensed CC Directors.

 

Here is what I was told:
The link is in an updated (updated March 29th) version of the Director’s Licensing Guide (DLG) on page 54.
At the end of a paragraph on that page, there is a sentence saying for more information see Appendix M and “this document,” which is the link to the ebook. 
Appendix M is a letter from Robert Bortins talking about the book. The title of the book is not mentioned, except if you click the little blue “this document” link you will see the book itself.

 

Please help out your fellow CC Directors and point them to the Directors Licensing Guide (which I believe is available online for licensed CC Directors) page 54, Appendix M and click on “this document.” 

 

Why can’t I get the ebook from Carol Topp, CPA, the author?
Unfortunately, I cannot distribute the ebook myself. My contract with Classical Conversations states that only CC may distribute the book. I am so sorry that it was not available sooner in this tax season and that it seems to be difficult for many of you to find.

 

What if I messed up my taxes?
If you read the ebook and believe you have made an error in filing your 2017 tax return, please consult a tax professional. If you prepared your tax return yourself, please contact a local tax professional to help you amend your tax return. It’s a confusing and complicated process to amend a tax return so I don’t recommend you doing it yourself. How to find a local tax professional

 

I hope that helps.
Again I apologize that the book was not available earlier in the tax season. It went through several reviews and edits and that delayed its release.

 

Carol Topp, CPA
Helping Homeschool Leaders and Organizations
Filed Under: IRS Issues Tagged With: ,

Tax deductible donations without IRS determination letter

04/10/2018 by Leave a Comment

We have an EIN and file 990-N annually but fall under the classification of a group self declares our tax exempt status because we make less than $5,000 a year. We have not gone through the formal 501(c)(3) application process with the IRS. I was talking with IRS today and I believe I understood them to say we cannot give a form to a donor stating their contribution is tax deductible.

If that is the case how can we assure potential donors we are tax deductible and doesn’t a donor need documentation for when they file their taxes?

Mark

 

Mark,

One of the major drawbacks for small 501(c)(3) organizations who chose to “self-declare” their tax exempt status is that they lack the official IRS determination letter proving that donations are tax deductible (See the photo above for an example of the IRS determination letter).

This important letter can give donors assurance that their donations are indeed tax deductible.

Technically, your organization can still receive tax deductible donations, but your organization lacks “proof” to show a donor.

A donor must keep a record if the donation is more than $250. This record is usually a letter from the charity, but a bank record (a cancelled check) may suffice. This record is only given to the IRS if the donor is being audited by the IRS.

Your homeschool group may be listed in the IRS database of Exempt Organizations since you have been filing your  Form 990-Ns every year. Visit IRS Select Check and see if your can find your organization listed as “Has filed Form 990-N” or “Are eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions.” If you are in the IRS database you can be assured that you can accept tax deductible contributions.

The best way to assure potential donors would be to file the Form 1023-EZ (fee $275 to the IRS and takes about 3-4 weeks). Then you get the official IRS determination letter.

I can assist you in filing the Form 1023-EZ. While it is a much simpler form than the full Form 1023, it can be confusing and you will want to be sure it is filed correctly.

Email me if you’d like my help.
Carol Topp, CPA

Filed Under: 501(c)(3) status, IRS Issues Tagged With: , , ,

Can homeschoolers use 529 plans? Maybe!

03/20/2018 by Leave a Comment

Congress decided to expand 529 savings plans to be used for K-12 expenses in the Tax Cut and Jobs Act or 2017. 529 plans were originally set up to save for college. The earnings on the savings is tax free. But they specifically excluded homeschool expenses from using 529 funds.

That seemed unfair to a lot of homeschoolers.

But there may be a way for homeschoolers to use their 529 savings accounts for some K-12 expenses.

The Tax Cut and Jobs Act or 2017 says this:

the term ‘qualified higher education expense’ shall include a reference to expenses for tuition in connection with enrollment or attendance at an elementary or secondary public, private, or religious school.”. (emphasis added)

There are 2 conditions for you to use 529 funds for K-12 expenses:

1) the costs must be for tuition and

2) the institution the family pays must be “a public, private, or religious school”

Some homeschool students take classes from private schools (locally or online). The tuition payments to these schools can use 529 funds.

But the cost of books, supplies, equipment, and payments to organizations that are not schools cannot use 529 funds.

Be careful that the tuition payments are going to a public, private, or religious school. In my experience most homeschool programs (co-ops, tutorials, etc) are NOT schools.

Homeschool parents should check with the program that they are paying tuition to to determine if it is a school according to their state’s definition.

If you have any concern about their status as a school, then do not use 529 funds to pay for the tuition. Withdrawals from a 529 fund that are not “qualified” (i.e. tuition paid to a public, private, or religious school) then you pay income tax and a penalty of 10% on the withdrawn funds. Ouch!

Carol Topp, CPA

Filed Under: IRS Issues, Money & Budgets Tagged With: , , , ,

What homeschool expenses can I deduct on my taxes?

03/13/2018 by Leave a Comment

Here’s a list of homeschool expenses you can deduct on your federal income tax return (Form 1040):

1.

Yes, that’s the list! It’s empty. There are NO homeschool expenses that you can deduct on your individual federal income tax return.

(Sorry for the click bait in the title!)

Homeschooling expenses are personal expenses, like groceries or clothes, and are not tax deductible on the US federal income tax return.

You cannot deduct your groceries or your clothes on your tax return and you cannot deduct your homeschooling expenses on your federal income tax return, either.

A few states may allow a tax deduction, a tax credit, or an educational saving account. But not your Uncle Sam (the US federal government).

 

Clever ideas to dodge taxes (that won’t work)

Sometimes homeschool families try to get clever and think that they will form a homeschool business and deduct the expenses. The idea is for the dad to hire his wife to teach their children. Then they can deduct school supplies, the mom’s wages as a homeschool teacher, etc.

Sounds pretty clever, huh? Except it doesn’t work anymore than paying mom to cook and feed the family by running an “in-house restaurant” won’t work. That’s because in both these plans (homeschooling as a business and in-house restaurant) there are no customers that are paying for the mom’s services.

Also, the mom has to declare her income to the IRS and she will have to pay taxes on it! That’s why families don’t hire mom to run an in-house restaurant and they shouldn’t hire mom to homeschool the kids either.

So forget the idea of forming your family homeschool as a business.

Homeschools as private school. Any tax breaks?

Some states treat homeschools as private schools, so some families think they can avoid taxes by declaring their private homeschool as a nonprofit organizations and get tax exempt status as a private school. That’s pretty clever too, huh? Only it won’t work.

Briefly, a nonprofit organization exists to serve a group, not an individual. The IRS will not grant “recognized charity” 501(c)(3) tax exempt status to a group that is formed solely to benefit the founder’s family. A tax exempt organization must serve a public good.

The IRS forbids private “inurement” in 501(c)(3) tax exempt organizations. Inurement means to be beneficial or advantageous. Inurement occurs when an organization is formed or operates with an incorrect charitable purpose that allows individuals in control to directly and personally benefit from the organization. 501(c)(3) organizations can lose their tax exempt status for practicing inurement.

So forget the idea of your family homeschool becoming a nonprofit organization.

 

In the end, do what the rest of use do, pay your taxes.

Don’t look to Uncle Sam to give you a tax break because you choose to educate your children at home. Instead appreciate the freedom we have an Americans to homeschool.

 

Carol Topp, CPA

Filed Under: IRS Issues, Nonprofit status Tagged With: , , ,

Ebook Taxes for CC Licensed Directors almost ready!

03/05/2018 by Leave a Comment

I just sent the final (I hope) version of my  ebook Taxes for Classical Conversions Licensed Directors off to Classical Conversations, Inc!

The ebook will be distributed by Classical Conversations, Inc to their licensed directors. It is my understanding that the ebook will be available at no charge to the licensed directors.

Update: The ebook was released on the Directors License Guide in late March 2018. Find it here.

If you’ve already prepared your tax return for 2017, you should STILL read this ebook to be sure you did everything correctly!

If you are not a licensed director with CC, I cannot share or sell a copy with you (sorry!), but I recommend you read the following blog posts:

CC Directors: Do not give yourself a 1099-MISC

Tax return for a Classical Conversations homeschool business

I’m a Classical Conversations Director. Do I have to file any forms with the IRS?

Understanding Taxes for a small homeschool business

 

Carol Topp, CPA

Free Resource

In the ebook, I mention a bookkeeping spreadsheet for CC Directors. You can get the spreadsheet now (all it costs is your email!)

 

Save

Filed Under: IRS Issues, Money & Budgets, Paying workers Tagged With: , , ,

Any Tax Deductions for Homeschoolers This Year?

02/26/2018 by Leave a Comment

 

Are there any tax deductions for homeschoolers this year?

Carol Topp, CPA answered this question originally back in 2014, but the answer is still the same-even with the new tax laws passed in 2017. Additionally, Carol gives some details on college expenses that are tax deductible and tax advantaged college savings plans.

This is a repeat of a podcast episode aired in 2014. I (Carol) caught a nasty cold and sinus infection and couldn’t talk without coughing for several weeks. I hope you find the re-broadcast of this episode helpful!

 

In the podcast Carol mentioned these resources:

Home School Legal Defense Association has an explanation of some states’ tax breaks or credits:http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000010/200504150.asp

Ann Zeise of A to Z Home’s Cool has a great, detailed and lengthy post of tax write-offs for homeschoolers:
https://a2zhomeschooling.com/laws/homeschool_laws_legalities/tax_deductions_educational_writeoffs/

 

Carol Topp, CPA

 

Filed Under: Homeschooling Helps, IRS Issues Tagged With: , , , ,

Q&A: Adding another program under your homeschool group’s umbrella

02/13/2018 by Leave a Comment

Super Bowl LII is over. Did your team win? Perhaps your homeschool group is considering adding football team.

Tricia, a treasurer if a homeschool program in Texas asked questions here and here about adding a football program. The homeschool group has 501(c)(3) status with the IRS.

She had several questions about tax exempt status and financial oversight.

  1.  What steps with the IRS do we need to follow to bring them under our homeschool group’s tax exempt umbrella?
  2. What forms would we need to file?
  3. Would they share our tax ID number or would they need their own?  What are concerns should we consider in doing this?
  4. The benefits to our members are obvious, but we don’t want to overlook concerns if there are any.  They would handle their own bank account, but how much would we need to manage?

 

Tricia,

I read your 501(c)(3) tax exempt application given to the IRS and see that sports teams was part of your mission. That’s good, because you do not have to approach the IRS and ask for permission to add the football program; it was included in your original tax exempt application.

Here are my answers to your questions:

1. When you file your 990 or 990-EZ Annual Information Return with the IRS, you simply list the football program as one of your programs. If your gross revenues are under $50,000 per year, you’ll file the simple Form 990-N and no explanation is required.

2. There are no additional forms to file beyond the annual Form 990/990-EZ or 990-N. That’s because sports teams was part of your mission in your original tax exempt application.

3. Use your main group’s EIN (tax ID number). The football program is just another activity run by the main group, so you should expect the typical concerns such as: Are they following policies, being careful, keeping good financial records and practices, etc? My book Money Management in a Homeschool Organization can help in this area.

4. Your main organization should have oversight of the football program’s bank balances. This includes allowing you, as the main group’s treasurer, access to their bank account online and require they give you a monthly bank reconciliation report and monthly reports of the income and expenses.

This may be a lot of extra work for you as a volunteer treasurer, so you may need to hire a bookkeeper or recruit more help from volunteers.

Tricia asked her questions by email. I can do that  for your homeschool program, but it is very time consuming to read and reply to emails. I charge a reduced rate of $50/hour to read and reply to emails. Or perhaps a phone call would be better. Contact me to arrange a private phone consultation.

Carol Topp, CPA

 

Filed Under: 501(c)(3) status, IRS Issues, Money & Budgets Tagged With: , , , , ,

Taxes for Classical Conversations Directors

02/06/2018 by Leave a Comment

Last tax year I was asked a lot of questions about taxes by Classical Conversations directors and tutors. Things like:

  • What tax form should I to use to report my income and expenses?
  • What expenses were tax deductible?
  • What tax forms do I need to give to my tutors?
  • How should tutors be paid?
  • How do I pay myself as a CC Director?

Fortunately, there is an ebook in the works to help CC Directors titled:

Taxes for Classical Conversions Directors

The ebook is available only to Licensed CC Directors from Classical Conversations, Inc

You can find the ebook here

 

I recommend the following blog posts:

CC Directors: Do not give yourself a 1099-MISC

Tax return for a Classical Conversations homeschool business

I’m a Classical Conversations Director. Do I have to file any forms with the IRS?

Understanding Taxes for a small homeschool business

Consult a local small business CPA. To find a local tax preparer I recommend two sources:

Both of these websites allow you to search for a local tax preparer who is knowledgeable about taxes for small sole proprietor businesses.

 

Carol Topp, CPA

Free Resource

In the ebook, I mention a bookkeeping spreadsheet for CC Directors. You can get the spreadsheet now (all it costs is your email!)

 

Save

Filed Under: IRS Issues, Money & Budgets Tagged With: , , ,

How to Find a Local Tax Professional

02/02/2018 by Leave a Comment

I like local!

I try to support local businesses and frequently tell tax clients in other states or cities to use a local tax professional.

How do you find a local tax professional?

Here are some tips:

I am no longer accepting tax clients for individual tax preparation, but I can help you with :

  • Business consultations by phone, especially of you operate a homeschool business like Classical Conversations, etc.
  • Nonprofit consultations by phone, especially of you are a homeschool organization or local Cincinnati nonprofit.
  • Assistance with applying for 501(c)(3) tax exempt status, especially of you are a homeschool organization or local Cincinnati nonprofit.
  • Filing annual IRS Form 990/990-EZ for tax exempt organizations

Please contact me via email, tell me a little about your business or nonprofit, and what questions and issues you have. We’ll see if I can help you or if you need to go local.

 

Carol Topp, CPA

 

Filed Under: IRS Issues Tagged With: , ,

Sponsoring a football program under your homeschool group

01/30/2018 by Leave a Comment
 
 Super Bowl LII is a few days away! Even though the Green Bay Packers will not be playing (I’m a Packer fan) football is on my mind! Perhaps your homeschool group is considering adding football team. Read on!
I wrote to you about starting a football league and wanting to have a “fiscal sponsorship.”  We postponed the sponsorship last year, but are now wanting to move forward with it.  This has given us new things to consider and I am really out of my league.
  • We are wanting the football program to have a separate bank account from the main checking account, but of course have all the books open and reports/statements submitted to us.  Kind of they way some Boy Scout Troops work with their charter. Will this be a problem?
  •  Will we be able to purchase equipment and supplies for the team using our 501c3 sales tax exemption?
  •  Will businesses be able to make donations specifically earmarked for the football program and then be able to receive a tax deductible letter from us, the main organization?
  • We are planning on purchasing insurance covering the players and cheerleaders. Would the main group need to be on that policy also?
  •  If the football program ever desired to become independent from the main group, would it be able to retain the assets i.e., playing equipment?
I am very overwhelmed at the responsibility involved as a volunteer treasurer. Other board members seem to think I’m overthinking all of this, and that it is no different than a boy scout group and it’s no big deal to get set up–just file some forms and use our tax id to open a bank account for the football program.  I don’t see it as that simple.
Thank you, Tricia
Trisha,
The football program does not have to be a separate legal identity. It can be one of the programs you operate as the main group. Here’s my  reply to your questions.
  • A separate bank account is fine. It will use the main group’s EIN and belong to the parent even though the football program leaders may be signers on the checks.
  • The football program can use the main group’s 501c3 tax status to purchase equipment (sales tax free).
  • Donors can make donations to the football program, but checks should be made out to the main group. You are then obligated to set aside these donations as “restricted funds” only to be used for the football program.
  • Your homeschool group needs to be the owner of the insurance policy because the football program has no separate legal status to buy insurance.
  • All assets belong to the main group, not the football program. If your homeschool group wishes to make a gift to the football program when they split off, it can or you can sell the assets to the football program at a reduced price. I recommend you put something in writing in your fiscal sponsorship agreement about who owns the assets, but leave it up to the board to decide when the time comes whether to sell or gift the equipment to the football program.

I agree with the board; you might be over-thinking this. While it’s good to do your due diligence, it should be pretty easy to add the football program to your homeschool group’s activities.

I do recommend you write up an fiscal sponsorship agreement. Here’s a website with a few examples. I also attached an example I found at Mr Colvin’s law firm website, http://www.adlercolvin.com/index.php You can simplify the language if you wish.

I hope this allows you to sleep better tonight! 🙂

Carol Topp, CPA

Followup: Tricia had additional questions concerning sharing the tax exempt status of her organization and the finances of this new program. Read more here.

Filed Under: 501(c)(3) status, IRS Issues, Money & Budgets Tagged With: , , ,