I set up Bank Account and CashApp for our non-profit school club under my name - tax implications?

This is actually a common issue with student organizations. You've created what's called a "fiscal sponsorship" situation, even if you didn't intend to. First, don't panic. The important thing is to keep meticulous records of all transactions to prove this money isn't your personal income. Create a separate spreadsheet tracking every deposit and withdrawal, noting the purpose of each transaction (member dues, event costs, etc.). Ideally, you should work with your school to see if they can provide an official umbrella for your club's finances. Many educational institutions have processes for student organizations to operate under their non-profit status. This would protect you from personal liability. If that's not possible, consider formally establishing the club as a non-profit entity with its own EIN (Employer Identification Number) from the IRS. This is free to obtain and will allow you to open a proper organizational bank account. In the meantime, make sure to keep your personal funds completely separate from the club funds to avoid any confusion come tax time.

I went through something similar with my cycling club and discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which really helped me sort out my situation. I uploaded my bank statements there and it automatically separated my personal transactions from the club expenses and categorized everything correctly. It saved me hours of manually trying to figure out what was what. Their system actually has specific knowledge about handling situations where personal and organizational finances are mixed, which was exactly what I needed. You can upload your bank statements and CashApp transaction history and it will help you document everything properly to show the IRS these aren't personal funds.

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai. I was skeptical initially (as you could see in my previous comment), but after giving it a shot with our youth basketball program finances, I'm genuinely impressed. It automatically segregated all the team dues from my personal transactions and generated a report that clearly showed the money was for the organization, not personal income. What surprised me was how it flagged certain transactions that could be problematic and suggested better ways to document them. Now I have proper records showing these funds aren't my personal income, which was my biggest worry. Definitely more helpful than my DIY spreadsheet approach.

If you're really worried about the IRS questioning you about this, Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) helped me actually talk to a real IRS agent about a similar situation. I was in a panic when I got a letter asking about "unreported income" that was actually just money from our neighborhood association I was handling. I spent DAYS trying to get through to the IRS on my own with no luck. With Claimyr, I got a callback from the IRS in less than 2 hours. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The agent I spoke to walked me through exactly how to document that the funds weren't personal income and what forms I needed to file.

Ok I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment I decided to try it for my own tax issue (had questions about a side gig and whether I needed to file as a business). Got a call back from the IRS in about 90 minutes, which is insane considering I spent 3+ hours on hold the previous week and got disconnected. The agent explained exactly what forms I needed and how to properly categorize my income. Saved me from potentially making a costly mistake on my return. For what it's worth, they told me that school club funds clearly separated from personal use typically don't count as personal income, but documentation is key.

As a treasurer for my fraternity, we solved this exact problem by going to our university's student activities office. They had a program where registered student orgs could open accounts through the university, which protected individual students from tax issues. Maybe your school has something similar?

Just FYI, I did the exact same thing with my college environmental club last year and ended up having to explain about $8,000 of transactions on my taxes. The bank sent a 1099-K because we processed over $5k, and I had to go through the nightmare of proving it wasn't my income.

This is why our robotics team created a parent booster club that's an actual 501(c)(3). It took some paperwork but now everything is legit. One of the parents who's an accountant helped us through the process. Maybe find someone with expertise who can help your club too?

I had a similar situation with our debate club a few years back. One thing that really helped was creating a simple financial agreement between me and the club officers stating that I was acting as a "custodial account holder" rather than the beneficial owner of the funds. We had everyone sign a document acknowledging that the money in the account belonged to the club, not to me personally. This created a paper trail showing clear intent that these weren't my personal funds. We also made sure to have monthly treasurer reports that were shared with all members showing exactly how much money came in and went out. The key is documentation, documentation, documentation. Keep receipts for everything, maintain meeting minutes that reference financial decisions, and make sure multiple people are aware of and can vouch for the club's financial activities. This way if the IRS ever questions it, you have plenty of evidence that you were just facilitating the club's finances, not receiving personal income. Also, consider having the club reimburse you directly for any expenses you pay out of pocket rather than mixing personal and club spending in the same accounts.