There has been a “rule” passed down from former leaders of our homeschool group to me that we have to keep our bank accounts under $25,000 or we will lose our tax exempt status. I do the books for another tax exempt organization and we often have our accounts over that amount.
I think they may be getting confused with the 990 rules regarding the limit to file the 990N, which is gross receipts under $50,000. Maybe it used to be $25,000?
In any case, that is gross receipts not assets and we don’t have gross receipts or assets over $50,000. So, I have never heard of this rule with the $25,000 bank balances, as I have done 990 taxes before. But I wanted to be able to feel confident that I did not miss anything and verified it with one other reputable source.
Can you tell me if I am correct in my assumptions?
Teri in Ohio
Terri,
You are correct!
They are confusing gross revenues (which used to have a threshold of $25,000 for filing the the 990N) with assets.
A nonprofit organization can have any amount they wish in assets (in your case, the bank account).
For example, the American Red Cross has $517 million in cash and checking accounts (Source: Form 990 dated June 30, 2015). Their other assets include buildings, a huge investment portfolio, and inventory. They need all this money in reserve so that they can assist victims when the next natural disaster happens.
It’s not the first time I’ve heard gross revenues and assets get confused.
My book Money Management in a Homeschool Organization would probably be helpful. I try to make confusing topics like money and taxes clear!
Carol Topp CPA
HomeschoolCPA.com
