Tax exemption
The national office of Pi Tau Sigma has established the status of a tax exempt organization. It has the ability to include the chapter member organizations as subsidiaries under its umbrella. If a chapter has the status of tax exempt it is not required to file and/or pay federal taxes on contributions it receives from members and/or donors and on any interest it accrues on its bank account. In addition, for a chapter that has the tax exempt status, any donors that contribute monies are allowed to deduct their contributions as tax deductible. Any Pi Tau Sigma chapter that does not have the tax-exempt status cannot benefit from the above. However, since all educational institutions have their own tax-exempt status, PTS chapters because of their affiliation to the universities can enjoy the same benefits except if the have monies in a bank account outside of the universities. Please note that your chapter’s tax-exempt status does not relieve you from paying state taxes.
A chapter to maintain its tax-exempt status needs to complete an online e-postcard (Form 990-N) every year, declaring that it has an annual income less than $50,000.
Your tax-exempt status is shown in the Chapter Status tab.
INSTRUCTIONS TO PI TAU SIGMA CHAPTERS FOR FILING THE 990-N FORM
The procedure for filing the 990-N form has changed in 2016. Please follow the instructions at https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/annual-electronic-filing-requirement-for-small-exempt-organizations-form-990-n-e-postcard and https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5248.pdf for proper filing of the 990-N form. The filing deadline is on the date of the establishing of your chapter bylaws. Just to make sure, it is best if you file before the end of the school year in May.
There is plenty useful information on the first link above including Frequently Asked Question that provide information on how to regain your status if you decide to do so.
You may call IRS at 877 829-5500 to speak with a person on any tax-exempt questions.
Please forward a copy of the email you receive from IRS indicating the successful submission of your tax form to alex.moutsoglou@sdstate.edu
