Starting a Homeschool Group
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Need One-On-One Help?
As of June 1, 2022, I, Carol Topp, CPA, am semi-retired and will no longer be offering one-on-one consultations. Instead, I offer you a selection of carefully selected, qualified, highly experienced homeschool consultants all who have led (or are still leading) homeschool nonprofit organizations!
I have 100% confidence in these fabulous, knowledgeable, and skilled individuals. If they have a question or need clarification on an issue, they will reach out to me.
Recommended Homeschool Group Consultants
Recent Blog Posts
Handout for Money Management and Reporting workshop
I was called out of my semi-retirement to speak to 120 homeschool leaders about Money Management and reporting! How could I refuse? Home Educators Association of Virginia is hosting its annual LeaderLife Conference in Washington, D.C. March 15 and 16, 2024. My workshop is on Money Management and Reporting Slides (pdf) Handout (pdf) or Handout…
The differences in cost of starting a microschool or homeschool co-op
I read this very interesting article from Education Next titled “A New Crop of School Models Expands Choice” by Michael Q McShane, director of national research at EdChoice. In the article he examines the increasing popularity of microschools and hybrid schools. It’s a long article and well researched. It’s worth your time to read it…
Do homeschool groups have to file this new FinCEN report?
The US Department of Treasury wants all “business entities” formed by filing with their Secretary of State to register in 2024 in their new Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting. Here’s a handy information brochure. This new new federal database is designed to identify criminals, money launderers, and other bad actors who use companies to conceal their…
IRS delayed implementing lower threshold for Form 1099-Ks again!
History repeats itself sometimes and this is a good time! The IRS is again delaying the implementation of lower reporting thresholds for Form 1099-K. Form 1099-K is a form a taxpayer (in this case a homeschool group) will receive if they use third-party payor services like Paypal, Venmo, Stripe, etc. to receive payments. Following feedback…
Homeschool Group FAQ
There are many reasons why homeschool groups form and operate as nonprofit organizations rather than businesses.
Read Answer
Tiny groups are more informal, some don’t collect any money and most don’t have a formal board like a typical nonprofit homeschool group. Learn More
In this short podcast episode (12 minutes) Carol Topp, CPA explains the benefits of forming your homeschool group as a nonprofit corporation and why a leader would want limited liability protection. Listen to the Podcast
You might be surprised at how simple it is to form a nonprofit organization. Here’s what it takes
Your homeschool group may be able to “self-declare” 501c tax exempt status and not officially apply. Here’s what to do
The IRS Form 990-N is a simple, online form that all nonprofit tax exempt organizations with annual gross revenues of less than $50,000 must file every year. Read Instructions
Some homeschool groups look a lot like schools. They offer a full curriculum, there are teachers teaching classes, they rent space to conduct the classes, etc. But are they “schools?” See Answer
Churches may be at risk for having their property tax exemption affected if they host a business. Read the FAQ
I state pretty clearly in my book Paying Workers in a Homeschool Organization that teachers in a homeschool program should be treated as employees not Independent Contractors.
Here’s why. Read Full Article