A Washington PTA treasurer works under the WSPTA Uniform Bylaws, the WSPTA Policy Manual, and the Standards of Affiliation that define good standing. Two elected officers sign every check and financial document. State and national dues leave the bank by autopay on the 25th of each month, and a committee of non-signers reviews the year, ideally by August 31.
WSPTA keeps its Managing Your Nonprofit PTA Handbook, its Treasurer Handbook, and its Financial Review Checklist behind a leader login on wastatepta.org. The bylaws, the policy manual, and the Standards of Affiliation documents are public. Each is linked below, as it read in November 2026.
Keep the WSPTA Uniform Bylaws (effective July 1, 2026) and the WSPTA Policy Manual (revised August 2025) close by, along with the policy amendments adopted since, which change how dues are paid. The Standards of Affiliation agreement for 2026-27 lists what keeps a unit in good standing, and the checklist guide explains each item. The login-only handbook and checklist are listed on WSPTA’s Finance Basics page, and the Treasurer Handbook on its Resources by Position page. Every local PTA follows the Uniform Bylaws and adds its own standing rules, approved by its members.
Deadline calendar
Every Washington unit runs on a July 1 to June 30 fiscal year:
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Every month | Written financial report from the treasurer |
| Monthly | Bank reconciliation reviewed and signed by someone who is not a signer |
| Within 30 days of each member’s payment | Member entered in Givebacks, WSPTA’s membership database |
| The 25th of each month | State and national dues owed are transferred automatically from the PTA’s linked bank account |
| By June 30 | Next year’s budget approved by the membership (recommended), the year’s dues paid in full, and books closed |
| July 1 | New officers take office, so update the bank signers |
| Within 30 days after June 30 | Books and records to the financial review committee (the policy manual says by July 31) |
| By August 31 | Year-end financial review finished (recommended) |
| First membership meeting of the fall | Standing rules approved, review results presented, and nominating committee elected (recommended) |
| By October 31 | At least 25 members entered in Givebacks and paid for |
| November 15 | IRS deadline for the 990-N, 990-EZ, or 990 |
| Before November 30 | AIM insurance renewed, to avoid a lapse in coverage |
| January or February | Mid-year financial review covering July through December (recommended) |
| January 31 | 1099-NEC forms to recipients and the IRS |
| Before the WSPTA convention (usually in May) | Officer training completed |
| By the last business day of May (May 28 in 2027) | Charitable organization registration renewed, if your PTA is registered |
| End of the month your PTA incorporated | Corporate annual report to the Secretary of State |
Paying money out
The membership adopts the budget. The treasurer chairs the budget committee and presents the budget for adoption at a membership meeting. WSPTA recommends approving next year’s budget before June 30, so the board has authority to spend and receive money over the summer, before the first membership meeting. The bylaws empower officers to disburse funds as the approved budget provides. Changing the budget takes a vote at a membership meeting. Any financial obligation that reaches past June 30 needs the membership’s approval too.
Two elected officers sign. The Uniform Bylaws require the signatures of two elected officers on every financial document of a local PTA, including checks and binding agreements. When two members of one household hold office in the same PTA, only one of them co-signs.
A request in Volo Cash signed by two elected officers, the president and the treasurer, as the Uniform Bylaws require.
Cards and online banking start with the standing rules. A PTA may pay with a debit card, a secured credit card, or online banking only when its standing rules, approved by the membership, allow it. The board also writes and approves procedures and internal controls for each one. WSPTA Policy 3.11 requires a fidelity bond before a PTA pays by electronic payment or card.
Rules for the cards themselves. Cards go only to authorized signers named in the standing rules. Signers should not be related or live together. A secured credit card’s limit should not exceed half the total income in the budget approved at the annual meeting. ATM withdrawals and cash back should be limited, under written procedures that say how they are accounted for. A lost or stolen card should be cancelled and the account reconciled by a non-signer. When a cardholder leaves office early, a non-signer reconciles the account right away.
Taking money in
The bylaws have the treasurer receive all money, issue receipts for it, and deposit it promptly in an authorized PTA account. WSPTA policy allows a PTA to take payments online or with in-person devices such as PayPal or Square. The non-signer who reviews the bank statements reviews those accounts’ monthly statements as well. The AIM insurance guide WSPTA posts suggests that two people count money and sign the receipt, and that money is deposited daily, even during an event that runs several days.
Every member goes into Givebacks within 30 days of paying. WSPTA’s policy, as amended in February 2026, sets the per-member dues sent to the state at $9.00: $5.75 for WSPTA and $3.25 for National PTA. Your standing rules set the local dues, either a set amount or an “up to” amount. A PTA that charges less than $9.00, or nothing, pays the difference from its general fund. Dues members pay when they join online are transferred to the PTA’s bank account.
Since September 2026, every local PTA is required to opt in to autopay in Givebacks. On the 25th of each month, any balance owed to WSPTA and National PTA is transferred automatically from the PTA’s linked bank account. The 2026-27 checklist guide still says “the end of the month” in one passage, while its own dues section, the agreement, and the policy all say the 25th, so plan for the 25th. At least 25 members are enrolled by October 31.
The monthly routine
The bylaws ask the treasurer for a written financial report every month, and at other times when the president asks. Our treasurer’s report guide walks through the general shape.
Each month someone who cannot sign on the account reviews the bank reconciliation. AIM’s fidelity bond applies only if the monthly bank reconciliation is reviewed and signed by someone without authority to sign checks. WSPTA’s policy asks the same reviewer to look at PayPal, Square, and secured credit card statements. The reviewer should not be related to or live with a signer. WSPTA’s login-only finance page includes a Non-Signer Review of Financial Statements form for it.
Reconciling in Volo Cash, ready for the non-signer’s monthly review.
The year-end financial review
WSPTA calls it the year-end financial review. The treasurer closes the books on June 30 and hands the books and records to the financial review committee, or a qualified accountant. The bylaws allow 30 days for that and the policy manual says July 31, so aim for July 30. WSPTA recommends finishing the review by August 31. A review still open after that should be finished as soon as possible, its guide says.
WSPTA’s summer as reminders in Volo Cash, from the new signers to the August 31 review.
The president appoints a committee of at least three. Anyone with signing authority for the period under review cannot serve, and neither can anyone living in the same household as a signer. The review is required three ways: the bylaws have the board approve a review at the end of every fiscal year, WSPTA policy makes each board member responsible for seeing that it happens, and a fidelity bond through AIM covers the PTA only when one is done.
Once it is finished, each board member gets a copy and the secretary attaches the original to the minutes. The board decides which recommendations to act on and records that in the minutes. The treasurer makes any corrections. The results are then presented and accepted at a membership meeting, usually the first one in the fall. The bylaws give the approval to the board and the policy has the membership accept the results, so take it to both. WSPTA also recommends a mid-year review in January or February covering July through December, with the year-end review then covering January through June. Our PTA audit guide covers what a reviewer looks at. Volo Cash exports every request with its receipts as PDFs in one download.
Taxes and state filings
The 990 by November 15. Every unit files its own 990-N, 990-EZ, or 990 for the year that ended June 30. A PTA filing the 990-EZ or 990 can request an extension on IRS Form 8868 by November 15, which moves the deadline to May 15. When the PTA’s mailing address or the responsible party on its 990 changes, file IRS Form 8822-B. Our PTA 990 guide explains which form applies.
The corporate annual report. Each local PTA files an annual report with the Secretary of State by the end of the month it was incorporated, whatever its income. It can file up to six months early. Givebacks shows the month under Compliance, View Unit Data. Under RCW 23.95.255, the Secretary of State’s renewal notice warns that an entity that does not file will be administratively dissolved.
Charitable registration with the Secretary of State. An organization raising less than $50,000 a year, with all of its activities done by volunteers and no officer or member receiving its assets or any pay, is exempt from registering under WAC 434-120-100. WSPTA counts the state and national dues toward that $50,000. Its checklist guide says a PTA must also register if it uses a commercial fundraiser or paid people to raise money. A PTA that must register pays $60 to do so before it solicits and $40 to renew each year under RCW 19.09.062. The renewal must be received by the last business day of the eleventh month after the fiscal year ends, under WAC 434-120-140. For a June 30 year end that is the last business day of May. WSPTA gives it as May 31, but May 31, 2027 is Memorial Day, so the 2027 renewal is due Friday, May 28. A PTA under the threshold may file the free optional registration instead, which also renews every year. The Charities Program mails a reminder about 60 days ahead.
Purchases are taxed. The Department of Revenue says Washington gives nonprofits no blanket sales or use tax exemption, so a PTA pays sales tax on its supplies, equipment, and services like any other buyer. Items the PTA buys to resell at a qualifying fundraiser can be bought with a reseller permit.
Fundraising sales are often exempt. Under RCW 82.04.3651 and RCW 82.08.02573, a qualifying nonprofit, such as a 501(c)(3), owes no B&O tax and collects no sales tax on its fundraising activities when the proceeds further its goals. The Department of Revenue’s examples include a school PTO’s annual dinner and auction. The exemption does not cover a regular place of business open during regular hours, such as a thrift shop or a bookstore. A nonprofit whose only sales are qualifying fundraisers does not have to register with the Department of Revenue.
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. The forms go out by January 31.
Raffles
The Washington State Gambling Commission says a school PTA will usually qualify to hold raffles. Every group within the PTA counts toward the whole PTA’s limits on raffles and money raised:
- Two unlicensed raffles open to the public each calendar year, with combined gross revenue of no more than $5,000.
- Any number of members-only raffles, up to another $5,000 in combined gross revenue, with tickets sold and winners drawn at the same meeting or event.
- A license from the Gambling Commission to go past either limit or to hold a third public raffle.
- Tickets of no more than $100, all at the same price, sold only by members to buyers 18 or older, and never sold online, by phone, or by mail.
- Local police notified at least five days before an unlicensed drawing, and records kept for one year.
The PTA has to have been organized and operating for at least 12 months before its first raffle. It owns the prizes before awarding them.
Insurance and good standing
WSPTA requires at least general liability insurance, and its insurance page says every local PTA must carry appropriate insurance. Paying by card or electronic payment also requires a fidelity bond, as above. Many PTAs buy through AIM for the discount, though WSPTA does not require AIM. AIM coverage should be renewed before November 30 to avoid a lapse. WSPTA recommends that the board review the type and amount of coverage each year, since a PTA’s needs change.
Good standing means meeting the Standards of Affiliation: officers, the corporate annual report, charitable registration, the 990, the year-end review, officer contacts in Givebacks, the budget, standing rules, the nominating committee, insurance, training, 25 members, and dues paid. For training, at least one elected officer attends PTA and the Law and every other elected officer attends a WSPTA-approved training before the convention. The checklist is not sent to WSPTA, though WSPTA can review a unit’s compliance at any time. WSPTA recommends keeping the checklist and its documents with your records for three years.
A unit found short is notified and has 30 days to fix it, then another 30 days with support. Good standing affects grants, awards, Reflections at the national level, and voting delegates. After a second year out of good standing, the WSPTA board can revoke the charter. A PTA whose charter is revoked stops using the PTA name and logo and changes its legal name.
Doing it in Volo Cash
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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.