by Emily Murray DTM Program Quality Director
Unfortunately, it is so. With the www.toastmasters.org website revamp, part of the update was to make Toastmasters sales and store purchases compliant with new IRS laws which mean sales tax. For Texas residents, the sales tax is on all digital purchases.
For the most part, this is pretty straightforward, if you are purchasing something from the TI store, you click the sales tax calculator, enter your zip code and the total amount of the purchase and it will tell you how much sales tax to add. It is up to you to report this properly before you finalize your purchase. This tax is also applicable on intangible things like the charter fee for a new club as this is the equivalent of purchasing a new club charter.
The tricky one is with membership. TI has not provided any guidance on this, but by trying many things and having many conversations the district Finance Manager has confirmed the rules for membership and new taxes are these:
- For the actual ($45.00 or prorated) dues fee, there is no tax. This is considered a donation to a non-profit and is tax-deductible as such for you when you file your own taxes.
- The $20 new member fee is the purchase of a new membership so this is taxed.
- If you are entering a renewing, dual, or transfer member there are no taxes, the amount to enter is $0.00.
- For new members, the $45.00 is not taxable but the $20.00 is taxable, so when you check the tax calculator you will enter a taxable amount of $20.00.
If your club charges club dues- that is handled in-house by your club. If you can issue a tax-deductible receipt for your member, then it is not taxed.
I know it is confusing, and this is subject to change as TI provides more information, but I hope it helps for now.
