Bank accounts and cash
Balance on the first day of the year, from the statement.
Last year's figures
Copy the totals from last year's accounts, or open last year's backup file.
Headings in the accounts
Rename a heading, or add one. Headings with nothing in them are left off the accounts.
Paste or open a bank statement
Download the statement from online banking as a CSV file. Nothing leaves this device.
Statement file
Entries
Recently deleted
Bank and cash at the year end
Type each statement's balance on the last day to check the cash book against it.
Signing
Earlier copies
Copies kept when accounts were replaced, deleted or before an import. Each page keeps its 40 most recent.
From cash book to CT-TR-1
Set the year and the opening balance of each account, then add each deposit and payment under a heading, or paste the bank's CSV export and tick the lines to add. Each heading belongs to one line of the form. Under Year end, list anything the form needs that isn't in the bank: donated items, money owed at the year end, and other assets. The CT-TR-1 tab shows every line, the schedules the form asks you to attach, the due date and the Form RRF-1 fee. Open the example: an elementary school PTA with a fall carnival, a spring auction and per capita dues sent to the council.
Which line does it go on?
| Form line | What goes there (form instructions) | PTA examples |
|---|---|---|
| Cash Contributions | All cash donations received, including grants | Membership dues (Registry FAQ), donation drives, corporate matching, grants |
| Noncash Contributions | Donated goods, not cash, check, card or transfer | Auction items, gift cards, food, equipment, at fair market value |
| Program Revenue | Money received for the organization's program services | Fees for after-school classes, camps, field trips |
| Investments | Interest, dividends, rent received | Savings and CD interest |
| Special Events | Events not regularly and routinely held | Carnival, auction, gala, jog-a-thon, raffle |
| Other Revenue | Anything else, with a list of sources | Spirit wear, snack bar, book fair profit share |
| Compensation of officers and directors; compensation of staff (two lines) | Salary paid | Usually none for a volunteer PTA |
| Fundraising Expenses | Paid to fundraising professionals, or for fundraising events, mailings and other fundraising costs | Carnival rides, prizes bought, auction software, spirit wear stock |
| Rent; Utilities; Insurance (three lines) | Lease payments; telephone, water, electricity, gas; all insurance | Storage unit, phone line, the PTA insurance policy |
| Supplies and postage | Office supplies and mailing | Printer paper, stamps (classroom supplies go under Other Expenses) |
| Other Expenses | Anything else, with a list | Assemblies, teacher grants, gifts to the school, bank fees |
Who files, and when
Registered charities that file IRS Form 990-N file Form CT-TR-1 with Form RRF-1, 4 months and 15 days after the year end (November 15 for a June 30 year end). The RRF-1 fee is $25 when total revenue is under $50,000; the CT-TR-1 tab shows your fee and works out the due date from your year end. The figures go into the Registry's Online Filing Service; paper forms by mail are accepted until new regulations start on January 1, 2027. The balance sheet uses the figures on the last day of the year.
Sources, downloaded October 23, 2026: Form CT-TR-1 and instructions, Rev. 01/2024 (the current form); the Online Filing Service regulations approved on October 13, 2026 (from January 1, 2027: Form CT-TR-1 Rev. 08/2026 for 990-N filers, filed online); Annual Registration Renewal page and FAQs (updated October 1, 2026); Form RRF-1, Rev. 01/2024; IRS Form 990-N and the Form 8868 instructions (no extension for 990-N); IRS Form 990 instructions, Part VIII line 8a; California State PTA's toolkit on funds not belonging to the unit.
Questions treasurers ask
Who has to file Form CT-TR-1?
A charity registered with the California Attorney General that is eligible to file, and does file, IRS Form 990-N (the e-Postcard) files Form CT-TR-1 with Form RRF-1 each year. The form's instructions (Rev. 01/2024) put it as total revenue under $50,000. If you file Form 990-EZ or 990 with the IRS, send a copy of that with Form RRF-1 instead. Private foundations file Form 990-PF.
When is it due?
Four months and fifteen days after the year ends: November 15 for a June 30 year end (the year California State PTA recommends) and May 15 for a calendar year. The Registry follows IRS extensions for Forms 990, 990-EZ and 990-PF, but Form 990-N can't be extended, so plan on the regular date.
Do I report a fundraiser gross or net?
The form doesn't say net, and its instructions put event costs on Fundraising Expenses, so this page reports what the event took in under Special Events and what it cost under Fundraising Expenses. Special Events are events the organization doesn't hold regularly and routinely, such as a carnival, auction, gala or jog-a-thon. Regular sales, such as spirit wear or a weekly snack bar, go under Other Revenue.
Where do membership dues go?
Under Cash Contributions. The Registry's own FAQ says so. If part of each membership is sent on to the council, district, state and national PTA, see the next question.
What about per capita dues we send on to the council?
The CT-TR-1 instructions don't cover it. California State PTA's toolkit says the council, district, state and national portions of dues are not the unit's funds and stay out of gross receipts. Enter them under Collected for another organization and the payment under Paid on to the other organization. If your tax preparer says to report dues in full, use Membership dues and Other Expenses.
How do I report donated items?
Under Noncash Contributions, at fair market value: auction items, food, gift cards, equipment. List each gift under Year end. If it is sold or given away at an event (an auction basket, a raffle prize), tick it and its value also goes under Fundraising Expenses, as in the IRS Form 990 instructions (Part VIII, line 8a, Examples 1 and 2).
Do I file online or on paper?
Online if you can: the Registry's Online Filing Service opened on August 25, 2026, and you enter the report there with Form RRF-1 and pay the fee. Paper forms with a check are still accepted by mail, but regulations approved in October 2026 make online filing the rule from January 1, 2027. The figures here work either way.
Is this tax or legal advice?
No. It adds up the figures you enter under the form's lines and follows the form's own instructions. The authorized agent who signs the report is responsible for it; ask your council PTA or a tax preparer about anything unusual.