San Antonio, Austin and Houston: Q&A with HomeschoolCPA this week

02/24/2020 by Leave a Comment

San Antonio, Austin and Houston, Texas will all be getting live Q&A time this week with Carol Topp, CPA, the Homeschool CPA!

San Antonio: Tuesday February 25, 2020
from 7:00 to 8:30 pm
on the lovely grounds of
Family Educators Alliance of South Texas (FEAST)
7735 Mockingbird Lane • San Antonio, TX • 78229
Register here for San Antonio

Austin: Wednesday February 26, 2020
from 6:30-9:15 pm
at
Calvary Worship Center (North Austin, close to TX 45 & N Mopac Expy)
14901 Burnet Road
Austin, TX 78728 
More information and to RSVP for Austin

Houston: Thursday February 27, 2020
from 6:30-9:15 pm
at
University Baptist Church  (Chapel area)
16106 Middlebrook Dr
Houston, TX 77059  
More information and to RSVP for Houston

Each event is free, but the organizers would appreciate you register so they have a head count.

The San Antonio event is sponsored by Family Educators Alliance of South Texas and the Austin and Houston events are sponsored by Texas Homeschool Coalition with much appreciation!


Each event will have:

  • A brief session presented by Carol Topp, CPA, the HomeschoolCPA on “Topp Tips for Running a Homeschool Organization”
  • A Town Hall session for you to ask question and get advice from other homeschool leaders
  • Q&A time with Carol Topp, CPA
  • Professional advice on finances, legal structures, taxes, employees, insurance, etc.
  • A chance to look at HomeschoolCPA’s books
  • An opportunity to be encouraged by other leaders who understand you!

I hope to see you in San Antonio, Austin or Houston!

Carol Topp, CPA
HomeschoolCPA.com
Helping Homeschool Leaders

Filed Under: 501(c)(3) status, Boards, Burn Out, Nonprofit status, Paying workers Tagged With: ,

Set Up Homeschool Family as a Charity

02/21/2020 by Leave a Comment

Carol Topp, the Homeschool CPA is sometimes asked if a homeschool family can be a charity.  Sometimes a homeschool spouse wants to set up a business and hire their spouse to homeschool their children.

Can this be done?

Are there tax breaks for doing this?

R.A. writes, “I would like some preliminary information on setting up a 501(c)(7). I would like to set up my homeschool (my wife and 3 kids) up as a charitable organization. We have been homeschooling for 12 years.”

Here’s Carol’s reply to these situations on today’s episode of the Homeschool Leader podcast.

  • Can R.A. set up his family as a charitable organization?
  • What’s a 501c3?
  • What’s a 501c7?
  • What’s the difference between a 501c3 and a 501c7?
  • Why your family cannot be a nonprofit
  • Why you shouldn’t hire your spouse to homeschool your children.
Listen to the podcast

In the podcast, Carol referenced a few sources from the IRS:

A nonprofit tax exempt organization must serve a public good, not the private interests of the founder or his family. The IRS is very clear on this point. https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/exemption-requirements-section-501c3-organizations

501c7 Social clubs must be formed for exempt purposes. Serving only your family is not an exempt purpose. See: https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/other-non-profits/social-clubs

Carol has a few blog posts on this idea:

Incorporate yourself and write off homeschool expenses

Can my family’s homeschool be a nonprofit?

Is my homeschool a nonprofit?

Featured Product

In the podcast I mentioned my book

The IRS and Your Homeschool Organization

Does your homeschool group need to pay taxes? Could they avoid paying taxes by being a 501c3 tax exempt organization? Do you know the pros and cons of 501c3 status? Do you know what 501c3 status could mean for your homeschool group?

I have the answers for you in my book The IRS and Your Homeschool Organization. The information I share in my book has been helpful to homeschool support groups, co-ops, music and sports groups and will help you understand:

  • The benefits of 501c3 status
  • The disadvantages too!
  • What it takes to make the IRS happy
  • What your state requires
  • Why your organization should consider becoming a nonprofit corporation
  • What is the difference between nonprofit incorporation and tax exemption
  • IRS requirements after you are tax exempt

The webinar Create a Nonprofit for Your Homeschool Community is also helpful.

Filed Under: 501(c)(3) status, Nonprofit status

Flowchart for Starting a Nonprofit

02/04/2020 by Leave a Comment

While helping a homeschool organization in Washington, I found a nice 44 page book from WA state on forming a nonprofit.

https://www.sos.wa.gov/_assets/charities/training/starting-a-nonprofit-pdf.pdf

I really liked the flowchart on page 5. It has steps to take at the State level, the Federal level, with people, planning milestones and operations milestones.
Many tasks can be some simultaneously. Some must come after another. The flowchart shows all that!

It’s a lot to digest, but it puts all the important steps in one flowchart!

I created a checklist to apply for 501c3 tax exempt status. It is sequential; it doesn’t show that many tasks can be simultaneous, but it should still be very helpful.

If you’d like helping starting a nonprofit or apply for 501c3 tax exempt status, my webinars will help !

I have several services to help homeschool groups apply for 501c3 status.

Or you can arrange a phone consultation with me.

Carol Topp, CPA
HomeschoolCPA.com
Helping Homeschool Leaders

Filed Under: 501(c)(3) status, Nonprofit status

Where to get initial funding for a homeschool nonprofit start up?

12/17/2019 by Leave a Comment

A homeschool parent is launching a new homeschool program. Like many nonprofits, she needs some money to start up.

The main concern for our group at the moment are funds for filing (for nonprofit incorporation and 501c3 tax exempt status).

We have brained stormed and agreed on holding a spaghetti dinner fundraiser but we aren’t positive that this will bring the funds we are hoping for. Another idea is to present the exact cost to those members interested and see if they will be willing or able to divide the start up cost.

Sounds like you have an exciting adventure ahead of yourself by forming a  homeschool nonprofit!

You asked about initial funding. Many homeschool groups get their initial funding from donations (or loans) from the board members. You could also ask friends, family and potential members for donations.

Having a fundraiser or soliciting donations can be tricky because you need a bank account and to get that you need an EIN and you should get an EIN only AFTER you form a nonprofit corporation. But that’s what you need the funds for, so you’re caught in a Catch-22 cycle!

Additionally, some state require organizations to register before conducting a fund raiser or soliciting contributions from the general public. Here’s a source to see what your state requires: https://www.harborcompliance.com/information/nonprofit-compliance-guide

So it seems donations (or temporary loans) from the board members or potential members is your best option.

Helpful Resources

I have three podcast episodes  to explain starting a nonprofit or converting a homeschool business into a nonprofit organization. My podcast can be found at HomeschoolCPA.com/Podcast The episodes are:

  • Episode 168 Part 1 Nonprofit basics
  • Episode 169  Part 2 Nonprofit corporation
  • Episode 170  Part 3 Tax exempt application

Additionally, I have a webinar that goes into much more in-depth on starting a nonprofit organization. Unlike the podcasts which are free, the webinar costs $10.


Get details for Create a Nonprofit for Your Homeschool Community webinar at HomeschoolCPA.com/CreateNP

If you don’t want to be taxed on any surplus, then you’ll need nonprofit AND tax exempt 501c3 status for your new group. The webinar will explain that. 🙂

Carol Topp, CPA
HomeschoolCPA.com
Helping Homeschool Leaders

Filed Under: 501(c)(3) status, Money & Budgets, Nonprofit status

DIY 501c3 tax exempt status

12/12/2019 by Leave a Comment

In 2019 Carol Topp started an ambitious project. She set out to record 3 webinars to hep homeschool groups form a nonprofit and apply for 501vc3 status.

In this podcast she describes these 3 webinars.

Create a Nonprofit Organization for Your Homeschool Community

501c3 Application for Homeschool Nonprofits

IRS and State Filings for Homeschool Nonprofits

(click each title for details)

The 3-video set plus resources, ebooks, checklists, etc. sells for $50

This 3-webinar set is great for:

  • Brand new start up homeschool groups
  • Existing groups that never formed as a nonprofit
  • Existing groups that never applied for 501c3 tax exempt status
  • Homeschool communities run as a business that want to convert to be a nonprofit organization

Learn more about this 3-webinar set to apply for 501c3 tax exempt status.

Filed Under: 501(c)(3) status, Tax exempt status revoked, Videos Tagged With: , ,

New homeschool co-op wants simplicity. Any taxes due?

12/10/2019 by Leave a Comment

Hi Carol.
I started up a group of a few families last year as a homeschool co-op in our community. As we have grown a little more this year, I would like to start up a checking account.

My question is, after I get an EIN and open the checking account for the co-op, what is required at tax time, if anything, for having that account?

I don’t want to be recognized yet with the IRS as a 501c3, just for sake of simplicity at this time. Am I going to be required to do anything because of having this checking account?

We do not pay teachers, the account is strictly for fees and supply costs.

This semester we will only be taking in about $2,500 at max. and that is stretching it.

Thank you for your advice.
Callie


Callie,

I have answered your questions in some blog posts that you may find helpful:

Will getting an EIN put us on the IRS radar?

Best of: Checking accounts for homeschool organizations

We’re not 501c3 and don’t want to be!

The last blog post explains you have a few choices if you collect money and provide a service:

  1. Stay small and self declare 501c3 tax exempt status. This is the simplest option and the one I recommend for Callie’s organization.

    She will have to call the IRS once to self-declare her 501c3 status and get added to the IRS Exempt Organization database so the group can file their annual IRS Form 990-N.

  2. Consider another tax exempt status such as 501c7 social club. This is applicable to support groups or clubs, but not for Callie’s homeschool co-op.

  3. Apply for 501c3 status, especially if annual revenues exceed $5,000/year. I can help with that.

  4. Pay taxes as a for-profit business. That’s the least simple way to go! I don’t recommend it!


If you are starting or running a tiny homeschool program (usually less than $5,000 in income in a year), then you’ll benefit from my resources and podcast series for Tiny Homeschool Groups.

Tips for Starting a Tiny Homeschool Group

Carol Topp, CPA
HomeschoolCPA.com
Helping Homeschool Leaders

Filed Under: 501(c)(3) status, Co-ops Tagged With:

Does bank account need to be less than $5,000 to be self declared tax exempt?

11/26/2019 by Leave a Comment

We are a small group (43 families) starting a non-profit. We have used several of your free and purchased resources. Thank you for your work in this space.

Question…does the opening balance of the bank account need to be less than $5,000 to remain self declared?

We will be receiving about $5,000 from a now defunct homeschool group to help us start off.

Our annual income won’t exceeded $5,000, so we plan to self-declare our 501c3 tax exempt status. Will the account balance of over $5,000 be considered income of over $5,000?

Thank you in advance for any information you may provide.

 

 

Thank you for contacting me.  I’m glad my resources have been helpful.

You asked, “..does the opening balance of the bank account need to be less than $5,000 to remain self declared?“
No. The IRS only looks at the annual gross revenues, not bank balances.

If the original groups wants to gift the new organization $5,000, that would be income (a donation) in the year it is received.  So that large donation could mean the new group has over $5,000 in gross revenues in that year.

But the IRS guidance* for self declaring 501c3 tax exempt status says:
“normally not more than $5,000.”

A one time large gift would not be “normal,” so the organization could still self-declare 501c3 tax exempt status if your normal gross revenues are under $5,000/year. 🙂

I hope that helps!

* Source: Instructions for Form 1023 page 1 “Form 1023 not necessary.”

Carol Topp, CPA
HomeschoolCPA.com
Helping Homeschool Leaders

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

What does it cost to get tax exempt status?

10/29/2019 by Leave a Comment

How much does it cost to be a 501c3? My homeschool group is new and we don’t have a lot of money.
-Homeschool leader

 

Dear homeschool leader,

It’s not as expensive to apply for 501c3 tax exempt status as it used to be, especially if your organization is small (revenues less than $50,000/year) and is eligible to file the shorter IRS Form 1023-EZ.

Here’s an explanation of the cost to get 501c3 status from my webinar on 501c3 Application for Homeschool Nonprofits

This webinar (90 minutes total length) will explain the benefits of tax exempt status, the application process and walk you through the application Form 1023-EZ line-by-line. At the end of the webinar you’ll be equipped to apply for tax exempt status by yourself. The cost of the webinar is $25.

 

Get more information on the webinar 501c3 Application for Homeschool Nonprofits

 

Carol Topp, CPA

HomeschoolCPA.com

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

Top 10 Tips for Homeschool Leaders: Bylaws

10/03/2019 by Leave a Comment

“Are bylaws and a board really necessary or is that only for homeschool groups that are 501c3 nonprofits?” was a great question asked by a homeschool leader at a workshop given to homeschool leaders in Wichita, Kansas.

In this second part of a 5-part series on Top 10 Tips for Running a Homeschool Group, Carol Topp, CPA, will answer that question and discuss bylaws and boards. She even explains IRS 501c3 tax exempt status too!

 

Each episode can be found at HomeschoolCPA.com/Podcast. In the 5 part podcast series Carol will cover:

Episode # 180 Board duties

Episode # 181 Bylaws

Episode # 182 Preventing fraud

Episode # 183 Paying Workers

I Episode # 184 Insurance and Record keeping

 

In the podcast Carol mentions how a tiny homeschool group should maintain its tax exempt status by filing and annual IRS Form 990-N. Here’s how to do that:

How to get added to the IRS database and file the Form 990N

 

You might find Carol’s podcast series for Tiny Homeschool groups helpful

Tiny Homeschool Groups: Are We a Nonprofit?

 

Featured Resource:

 

Start a Nonprofit and Get Tax Exempt 3-webinar set

Webinars are a great way to learn!

This 3-webinar set will help your homeschool group get established as a nonprofit, apply for IRS 501c3 tax exempt status and maintain it with IRS and state annual reports!

Everything you need to know in an easy-to-understand video format. This set includes the 3 videos (90 minutes each), an ebook The IRS and Your Homeschool Organization by Carol Topp, CPA, the slide handouts, IRS forms, and templates to help you apply for 501c3 status on your own!

Learn more.

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

Still time to join the IRS and State Filings for Homeschool Nonprofits webinar

08/20/2019 by Leave a Comment

Carol Topp, the Homeschool CPA, will help you understand the IRS and state reports and file them yourself! In her webinar IRS and State Filings for Homeschool Nonprofits, Carol will explain the IRS annual returns and how to determine what your state may require as well.

You will learn:

  • The importance of maintaining 501c3 tax exempt status
  • The IRS Form 990 series. What form your group needs to file.
  • How to know if you’ve missed filing IRS returns
  • How to see Form 990-EZs and 990s from other nonprofits.
  • An explanation of the IRS Form 990-N.
  • What filings may be required by your state with examples

The webinar was live in August 2019 but you an purchase the recording for $10.

The webinar will last approximately one hour. There will be time for your questions. It will be recorded for viewing later.

The cost is $10 and you will receive:

  • Access to the live webinar on Wednesday August 21, 2019
  • An opportunity to ask questions via the live chat room
  • Handout of the slides
  • Recording to the webinar
  • IRS Forms, Instructions and samples
  • Template to summarize your state and IRS filing requirements for your board

Carol Topp, CPA

HomeschoolCPA.com

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