I received your inquiry via Betsy Bowen and have responded to her.  She should be in contact with you shortly.  A lot has changed over the past few years since the enacting of the Patriot Act and the subsequent banking legislation.  It can be a challenge to open a bank account.  Most banks will require you to get a TIN for your association.  In my opinion, this is the only way to go.  

As for taxable income: it is my understanding that the only income that would be taxable income, is the interest that the bank pays you on the account.  Even so, the interest received would almost certainly never reach the required threshold to have to file an income tax return for the association.

I hope that this information is helpful along with the information being forwarded to you via Betsy.

Please feel free to contact me, should you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Charlie Brush
Road Commissioner
Perkins' Beach Road Association

Here in full is what Charlie Brush reported to me. Thanks, Charlie, for your excellent guidance. With his permission, I included his RA's email address. 

If anyone on this site has recent experience with getting a TIN, a post would be helpful.

I am not an authority on these issues, though I can help mobilize the experience of other road associations.

That is the concept behind the site!  

Regards,

Betsy

So starting a bank account does have its challenges.  Almost certainly, most banks will require an association to acquire a TIN.  It used to be a fairly simple procedure, but, that too many have become complicated due to the Patriot Act.  IF their bank does not require a TIN and allows them to use their personal Social Security Number (not recommended), then whatever interest they do earn will be fairly insignificant.  We keep a balance that ranges between $2,000 and $4,000 and last year we earned just over $4.00 in interest for the entire year.  Because we do have a TIN and the interest is our only source of income, we do not have to file any income tax returns.

We never did go through the process of being registered as a non-profit organization.  With only bank interest as our income, it did not seem worth the time and effort to file the paper work.  Becoming a non-profit organization does allow the association to receive some sales tax exemptions, but, once again, it does not seem worth the effort.  There also may be a yearly filing fee with the State of Maine to be registered as a non-profit organization.  But, not being a non-profit organization should not affect the association's ability to acquire a TIN.