A Virginia PTA treasurer follows Virginia PTA’s Treasurer Basics and the Uniform Bylaws that every unit in the state shares. Two of three authorized signers approve every payment in writing, electronic ones included, and overspending the budget by more than $500 takes a membership vote. The financial review, the 990 proof, and proof of insurance are due to Virginia PTA by August 1.
Virginia PTA publishes its guidance as web pages and forms that it updates through the year, not as one handbook. What follows is how those pieces fit together for a unit treasurer, as they stood in September 2026, with each rule linked to the page it comes from.
Read Virginia PTA’s Treasurer Basics alongside its Standards of Affiliation page, which lists what is due and when. The Sample Documents page has the Treasurer Request Form, sample books, a month-to-month checklist, and the Financial Review Form. Every unit operates under the same Uniform Bylaws, adapted only through its Organizational Structure Form.
Deadline calendar
Every Virginia unit runs on a July 1 to June 30 fiscal year:
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Every meeting, and monthly | Written treasurer’s report, filed even in a month with no meeting |
| The 1st of each month | Dues sent to Virginia PTA through Givebacks (a few new members can wait; see the checklist) |
| Monthly | Every account statement reviewed by a member who is not a signer |
| June 15 | Executive board contact information and EIN verification in Givebacks |
| Last meeting of the school year | Summer spending budget, if the unit wants one |
| Before June 30 | Financial review committee appointed |
| July 1 to 10 | Treasurer reconciles and prepares the review materials |
| July 11 to 20 | Committee conducts the review |
| August 1 | Signed financial review, proof of the 990 filing, proof of insurance, and the Organizational Structure Form uploaded to Givebacks, plus the year’s first dues payment |
| Next general membership meeting | Financial review presented |
| November 15 | IRS deadline for the 990-N, 990-EZ, or 990 |
| January 31 | 1099-NEC forms to recipients and the IRS |
Virginia PTA’s summer run as reminders in Volo Cash, with the August 1 packet attached.
Paying money out
The adopted budget comes first. The executive board approves the budget and the general membership adopts it, and the Uniform Bylaws allow no spending before then. A summer spending budget voted at the last meeting of the school year covers the months before the new one passes. Without one, Virginia PTA’s checklist allows only usual and customary expenses, such as recurring subscriptions, until the new budget passes.
The $500 rule. When one or more lines go over budget and the overage across them totals more than $500, the membership amends the budget. Underspending on other lines does not offset it, and a new line always needs an amendment. Fundraisers are approved as part of the budget too.
Two of three signers approve every payment. Each request comes in on the Treasurer Request Form or something like it, with a receipt or invoice, and two of the PTA’s three authorized signers approve it in writing before anything is paid. That covers PayPal, Stripe, and bill pay as well as checks. Emailed or digital approval is fine as long as you keep the record. Virginia PTA’s form asks for reimbursement requests within 30 days, and teachers add their principal’s approval.
A request in Volo Cash approved in writing by two of the three signers, the president and the treasurer.
Three signers, none related. The account has three authorized signers, usually the treasurer, the president, and the secretary. They should be elected officers who are not married or otherwise related. Paper checks carry two signatures, ideally the treasurer’s and the president’s. Nobody writes a check to themselves or to cash, and when the treasurer or president is reimbursed, the other two sign.
A new treasurer waits for the review. Under the Uniform Bylaws, an incoming treasurer can make deposits, reconcile, and change signers, but takes on no other banking duties until the financial review has been presented to the executive board.
Cards and payment apps:
- The membership authorizes each electronic option in the standing rules and re-approves it every year. Recurring payments need a motion at a general membership meeting.
- Cards go only to authorized signers, with no ATM withdrawals or cash back, and come back at the end of the term.
- PayPal, Stripe, and Square are fine when registered under the PTA’s EIN. Cash App is not suitable, and Venmo and Zelle are strongly discouraged.
- Balances in payment accounts are swept to the bank monthly and included in the reconciliation.
- Gift cards are treated as cash, ideally under $25 each, and logged with a signed receipt from each recipient.
Money for the school goes to a stated purpose with an invoice or receipt, ideally through a grants committee with an application process. Virginia PTA rules out lump sums a principal spends at their discretion, and discourages paying for school operations, payroll, or buildings.
Taking money in
Two executive board members count the money on a counting form, like the one built into the Treasurer Request Form, and deposit it the same day when they can. Virginia PTA’s cash handling guidance asks for counters who are not related, the night drop when the bank is closed, and never taking cash home. Start-up money for a cash box comes from a check to a named volunteer.
Dues are $4.75 per member: $3.25 for National PTA and $1.50 for Virginia PTA. Neither is part of your budget. Record them as owed and send them through Givebacks, which the president or treasurer can do alone.
The monthly routine
The treasurer gives a written report at every meeting and files one each month even without a meeting. It shows month-end balances, the month’s and year’s totals by budget line, and budget against actual. Our treasurer’s report guide walks through the general shape of one.
Each month, a member who is not a signer and not related to one reviews every statement, including PayPal, Square, Stripe, and any other payment account, against the treasurer’s report and signs off.
Reconciling in Volo Cash, where a member who is not a signer can review and sign off each month.
The annual financial review
Virginia PTA calls it the Annual Financial Review. It used to be called an audit. The committee has at least three people, none of whom were signers during the year being reviewed. Incoming officers without signing authority for that year can serve, and a swap with another PTA also works. Virginia PTA says a CPA can serve only as a volunteer committee member. The committee is appointed before June 30 and works through the Financial Review Form in July, and the incoming president and treasurer sign it before it goes to Virginia PTA by August 1.
The Uniform Bylaws say the membership adopts the review at its next general meeting. Virginia PTA’s 2026 forms and planning calendar say it is shared as information and a vote is no longer required. Presenting it for adoption satisfies both. If the treasurer leaves mid-year, a committee is chosen within a week and finishes within three weeks of the resignation. Our PTA audit guide covers what a reviewer looks at. Volo Cash exports every request with its receipts as PDFs in one download for the committee.
Taxes and state filings
The 990 is due to Virginia PTA by August 1. The IRS deadline is November 15, but proof of filing goes to Virginia PTA with the review. Each unit files under its own EIN, with “Virginia Congress of Parents and Teachers” as the legal name and your PTA’s name as the DBA. The 990-N cannot be extended. A 990-EZ or 990 filer that needs more time asks Virginia PTA in writing before August 1, and it can extend the deadline to November 15. Our PTA 990 guide explains which form and how to file.
Sales tax exemption takes an application. Virginia has no automatic exemption for PTAs. A unit that wants to buy tax-free applies to Virginia Tax as a nonprofit under § 58.1-609.11, and the certificate lasts five to seven years before it must be renewed. Virginia PTA treats the exemption as optional.
Food sales are tax-free up to 23 times a year. Occasional sales are exempt. A nonprofit eligible for the purchase exemption can also sell food, meals, and tickets to events with food tax-free on fewer than 24 occasions in a calendar year.
Charitable solicitation. Virginia PTA says its annual filing with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services covers every unit for fundraising and soliciting contributions.
If your PTA paid an individual or an unincorporated business for services, the 1099-NEC threshold is $2,000 for payments made after December 31, 2025, and the forms go out by January 31.
Raffles
Virginia regulates raffles as charitable gaming through the Office of Charitable and Regulatory Programs:
- An organization that expects $40,000 or less in raffle receipts in any 12 months need not notify the office or follow its raffle regulations.
- A PTA qualifies for charitable gaming under the category for nonprofits with $40,000 or less in receipts. Ask the office before planning a larger raffle.
- A permit also requires the organization to have existed and met regularly in Virginia for three years.
Insurance and good standing
The Uniform Bylaws require every unit to carry insurance, with proof uploaded to Givebacks by August 1 (the state bylaws say June 15, so confirm with your council). Any carrier works. Virginia PTA’s insurance page features AIM, a sponsor, and suggests a fidelity bond limit equal to your annual revenue.
Good standing takes at least three elected officers, the June 15 contact information, the August 1 packet, and dues sent on time. A unit that falls out of it cannot get the 501(c)(3) verification letter that donors, grantmakers, and banks ask for, and cannot receive grants or awards like Reflections. Virginia PTA warns that failing to send membership lists and dues ends with the unit closed and its tax exemption revoked.
Doing it in Volo Cash
Volo Cash fits the process you already follow, from the two signers’ approvals on every request to the reports, reminders, and reviews above.
You can try all of it free for three months. Start a free trial.
For the rest of the job, our complete PTA treasurer handbook walks through the year, and the year-round duties checklist lays out what falls due when.