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Accounting

THIS IS NOT OFFICIAL ADVICE
GET AN ACCOUNTANT
CONFORM TO ALL LOCAL, STATE, AND FEDERAL LAWS

The PSF is a non-profit organization. There are a number of local, state, and federal laws and accounting practices we need to conform to. PyCon moves locations every 2 years, and laws change. It is best to review all laws and statutes every year to ensure we are in compliance.

We need to report donations over certain amount to the IRS. Both the items being donation to the auction, and the winning bids need to be reported to the IRS. We also send notifications to the donors and bidders. For the winning bids it is the delta between the bid and the reported value of the item which determines the reporting needs.

To this end this is the set of minimal rules for running the auction which we use to keep us well in compliance, and greatly simplify the accounting.

No restricted items

This can change drastically between localities. Some things require additional permits or have special accounting rules.

We do not accept:

  • food
  • plants
  • alcohol
  • weapons (guns, knives, etc.)
  • tobacco and tobacco related items
  • property (anything with a title or deed)
  • leases
  • items requiring a contract

The official list of items we do not accept (TBD) is larger, but these are the ones which need to be scrutinized for legal ramifications. We have been able to do food and plants with limitations in the past.

Raffle

  • Items in the raffle Must be under $250 in value.
  • No discount for multiple tickets.
  • Each person only wins 1 item.
  • No collection of purchaser information.
  • While we report the number of tickets on a slip, the person is purchasing N tickets, each for $1 and each with an equivalent chance of winning.

Donations

  • Get the address of the donor for IRS reporting independent of the 'contact name' and 'official donor name' on the submission form.

Auction Winners

  • Get their address for IRS reporting no matter the winning bid.
  • Track the winning bid against the donated value in the spreadsheets.