Last updated 2026-07-24
TL;DR
Form 990 and 990-EZ are annual IRS information returns for tax-exempt nonprofits. Which one you file depends on gross receipts and total assets: under $50,000 in gross receipts, you likely file the simpler 990-N; between roughly $50,000 and $200,000, the 990-EZ often works; above that, or with over $500,000 in assets, you generally need the full Form 990. Confirm the exact thresholds with the IRS, since they can shift.
What is Form 990?
Form 990 is the annual information return that most tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS. It's not a tax bill in the way a business tax return is. Your booster club, PTO, or youth sports league almost certainly doesn't owe income tax on donations and fundraising revenue tied to its exempt purpose. Form 990 exists so the IRS (and the public) can see how a tax-exempt group takes in money, spends it, and governs itself. The IRS describes the 990 series as the way organizations report "revenue, expenses, and changes to net assets" and other operational details. Think of it as a financial and governance snapshot, filed once a year, that keeps your group's tax-exempt status active. There isn't one single 990 form. There's a family of them, sized to the organization: the full Form 990, the shorter Form 990-EZ, and the very short Form 990-N (the "e-Postcard"). Larger private foundations file a different variant, Form 990-PF, which most booster clubs and PTOs will never touch. Which version applies to your group depends mostly on how much money moved through your accounts last year, plus your total assets. We'll walk through the thresholds next. How Form 990 works for small nonprofits
What is Form 990-EZ, and how is it different from the full 990?
Form 990-EZ is the medium-sized version of the annual return, meant for organizations too big for the postcard-simple 990-N but not so big that they need the full form. It's a genuine paper (or e-file) return with several pages: a summary of revenue and expenses, a balance sheet, program service accomplishments, and officer/director compensation disclosures. The IRS sets eligibility by gross receipts and total assets. As of recent guidance, an organization can generally file Form 990-EZ instead of the full Form 990 if gross receipts are less than $200,000 and total assets are less than $500,000 at the end of the tax year [1]. Cross both of those lines and you're supposed to file the full Form 990 instead. The full Form 990 asks a lot more: detailed functional expense breakdowns, more governance questions (conflict of interest policy, whistleblower policy, document retention policy), and schedules for things like fundraising events, grants, and related organizations. For a volunteer-run booster club, that's a meaningfully heavier lift, which is exactly why the size-based tiers exist. 990 tax form basics for volunteer treasurers Because thresholds and form details get revised, don't treat any number here as locked in stone forever. Confirm current gross receipts and asset thresholds with the IRS instructions for the specific tax year you're filing.
What is Form 990-N, and does my small booster club need it?
Form 990-N, the e-Postcard, is the simplest option, built for organizations whose gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less [2]. It's an eight-question online form: legal name, EIN, tax year, address, confirmation that gross receipts are $50,000 or less, and a statement that the organization hasn't terminated. No financial statements, no schedules. It takes most treasurers under fifteen minutes once they have the EIN and login sorted. Most small booster clubs, PTOs, and rec-league parent groups fall into 990-N territory. If your group's total intake for the year (dues, concessions, spirit wear, fundraiser proceeds, sponsorships) stays under $50,000, you're a strong candidate for the e-Postcard rather than the EZ or full form. One quirk that trips people up: even organizations that qualify for the 990-N can choose to file the 990-EZ or full 990 instead, and some grant funders or banks like seeing the more detailed return. But you're not required to do the extra work if you're under the threshold. 990-N basics and how to file it and step-by-step on the Form 990-N e-Postcard
Which form should my organization file: 990-N, 990-EZ, or full 990?
| $50,000 or less | any | Form 990-N (e-Postcard) [2] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Less than $200,000 | Less than $500,000 | Form 990-EZ (or full 990 if you prefer) [1] | |
| $200,000 or more, OR | $500,000 or more | Form 990 (full return) [1] | "Gross receipts" is the sticking point for a lot of volunteer treasurers. The IRS defines it as the total amount your organization received from all sources during the year, before subtracting costs or expenses [3]. That means if your spring carnival grossed $30,000 but you spent $18,000 on it, your gross receipts figure for this test is still $30,000, not the $12,000 net. Booster clubs that run a big raffle or a car wash fundraiser sometimes get surprised by this and end up needing the 990-EZ instead of the 990-N they filed last year. Run this calculation every year. A group that stayed under $50,000 for three straight years can blow past it the year they host a big tournament or run an unusually successful raffle. |
Match your form to your gross receipts and total assets from the year you're filing for, not the current year. Here's the general breakdown, but always confirm the live numbers with the IRS instructions because thresholds have shifted before and could again. | Gross receipts | Total assets | Form generally required |
What happens if my booster club or PTO misses the 990 deadline?
The 990 series is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after your organization's accounting period ends [3]. For a calendar-year filer (tax year ending December 31), that's May 15 of the following year. A lot of school-year-aligned booster clubs use a June 30 fiscal year end instead, which pushes their deadline to November 15. Miss one year and nothing catastrophic happens immediately, generally. Miss three years in a row and the consequence is severe and automatic: the IRS revokes your tax-exempt status without any additional notice or hearing. The statute is explicit that failure to file for three consecutive years results in automatic revocation [4]. This isn't a discretionary penalty someone reviews case by case; it's baked into the tax code (IRC 6033(j)). Once revoked, your organization shows up on the IRS Auto-Revocation List, donations you receive are no longer automatically tax-deductible to donors, and you may owe corporate income tax on revenue going forward until you're reinstated. Getting reinstated means filing Form 1023 or 1023-EZ again (the exemption application, not the 990) along with the back 990s, plus possibly requesting retroactive reinstatement and paying a user fee. It's a real headache for a volunteer group, and it's completely avoidable by just filing on time, or filing for a six-month extension using Form 8868 if you need it.
How do I actually file Form 990-N or 990-EZ?
Form 990-N is filed exclusively online through the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search / e-Postcard system, not on paper [2]. You'll need your organization's EIN, legal name, and confirmation of gross receipts before you start. There's no cost to file it. If your group has never filed before or lost access to old login credentials, you may need to call the IRS Exempt Organizations customer account services line to get set up. Form 990-EZ and the full Form 990 require electronic filing as well; the IRS mandates e-filing for essentially all 990-series returns now, through IRS-authorized e-file providers rather than IRS.gov directly for the EZ and full versions [5]. You can't just print and mail these anymore for most organizations. A handful of transitional relief exceptions exist for very small filers, but plan to e-file. Before you file the EZ or full 990, gather: your bank and investment statements for the full fiscal year, a list of officers and directors with any compensation paid, program expense totals, fundraising event details, and your prior year's return if one exists. Reconstructing a year of transactions from memory is exactly the kind of pain point a good handoff document prevents for whoever takes over after you.
What does a treasurer do?
A treasurer is the person responsible for tracking, safeguarding, and reporting an organization's money. In a volunteer group like a booster club or PTO, that usually means keeping the checkbook or accounting software current, reconciling the bank statement every month, collecting and depositing cash from fundraisers, paying approved bills, and preparing a financial report for board meetings. Beyond day-to-day bookkeeping, the treasurer typically owns compliance tasks: filing the annual 990-series return, renewing any state charitable solicitation registration, tracking a raffle license if the group runs one, and keeping receipts organized in case of an audit or a board member's question. None of this requires an accounting degree. It requires consistency: doing the reconciliation every month instead of catching up once a year, and writing things down so the next person isn't starting from zero. A lot of booster club chaos traces back to one root cause: the treasurer job passed from parent to parent with no records, no login credentials, and no memory of what the group's normal financial rhythm even looks like. That's the exact gap a State-Personalized Treasurer Kit is built to close, a one-time $99 packet with your state's specific forms, deadlines, and a handoff template, so the job doesn't reset to zero every time someone new takes it on.
What is a treasurer, exactly, and what does that role mean in a volunteer club?
In a volunteer club, a treasurer is a specific officer position, usually defined in the bylaws, who holds legal and practical responsibility for the organization's funds. The role is distinct from "whoever's good with numbers." Most nonprofit bylaws spell out that the treasurer has signing authority on bank accounts, must present financial reports at meetings, and is one of the officers whose name goes on IRS and state filings. That signing authority is real, and it's why most well-run boards require two signatures on checks above a certain dollar amount, or require board approval before large expenditures. The treasurer isn't supposed to be a lone operator making unilateral spending decisions; the position exists inside a system of shared oversight, even in a small volunteer group. When bylaws are vague or missing entirely (common in booster clubs that started informally), define the treasurer's authority in writing as soon as you can. Spell out check-signing limits, who approves reimbursements, and what reports get shared at which meetings.
What do treasurers do day to day, month to month, and year to year?
Daily or weekly: deposit cash and checks promptly (don't let money sit in a car or a coat closet), log every transaction, and keep receipts for anything paid out. Groups that handle cash from concession stands or gate admissions should have two people count the cash box together and both sign off on the total; this single habit prevents the vast majority of "missing money" disputes. Monthly: reconcile the bank statement against your books, present a simple income-and-expense report to the board, and flag anything unusual (a bounced check, a duplicate payment, a fundraiser that underperformed). Annually: file the appropriate 990-series return by the deadline, renew any state charitable registration, review or renew a raffle/gaming license if applicable, and do a rough budget-to-actual comparison for the year that just ended. This is also the natural time to update your signers list at the bank if officers changed, and to archive the year's records somewhere the next treasurer can actually find them.
What does a club treasurer do differently from a corporate treasurer?
A club treasurer, whether for a booster club, PTO, or youth sports league, handles a smaller, simpler set of transactions than a corporate treasurer, but often with less infrastructure. There's usually no accounting department, no dedicated software license, and no paid staff double-checking the work. The club treasurer is doing bookkeeping, basic reporting, and compliance filing, all as one volunteer, often while also being a parent at the same games and meetings. The stakes are different too. A club treasurer's biggest real risks aren't fraud on a corporate scale; they're auto-revocation from missed 990 filings, a raffle run without the required state permit, or cash handling that's sloppy enough to create suspicion even when nobody actually took anything. Good controls in a volunteer setting look like: two-signature checks, monthly reconciliation, a written cash-count procedure for events, and a habit of filing the 990 the same week every year rather than waiting until a deadline reminder shows up. Most of the compliance work isn't complicated once you know what applies to your group's size. The hard part is that nobody hands new volunteer treasurers a map of what's actually required.
What does a treasurer of a club do if the group has never filed a 990 before?
First, confirm the organization actually has 501(c)(3) or other tax-exempt status recognized by the IRS, and get the EIN if you don't already have it. Some booster clubs operate for years assuming they're tax-exempt because a school told them so, without ever filing Form 1023 or 1023-EZ. Check the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool to see if your group shows up as recognized, and if it's on the Auto-Revocation List. If the group is exempt but has never filed a 990, file for every year you can, starting now, even if you're filing late. The IRS does have penalty relief programs in some cases, and being proactive is always better than waiting for a notice. If the group has already been auto-revoked for missing three years, you'll need to go through reinstatement, which generally means refiling the exemption application and the back returns. If the group was never recognized as tax-exempt at all, that's a bigger conversation, and it's worth getting advice from an accountant or attorney who works with nonprofits, since the fix depends heavily on your specific facts and state.
What is a 990 tax form used for beyond just satisfying the IRS?
The 990 isn't only a compliance box to check. It's a public document. Once filed, Form 990 and 990-EZ (though not 990-N) become searchable through the IRS's Tax Exempt Organization Search and through third-party sites, meaning parents, donors, sponsors, and even competing organizations can look up how your group spends its money. That transparency cuts both ways. A clean, well-organized 990 can reassure a sponsor or a school district that your booster club runs tight books. A sloppy or wildly inconsistent one (say, revenue figures that don't match what parents remember the fundraiser bringing in) can trigger uncomfortable questions at a board meeting or from a school administrator overseeing your group's use of school facilities. Some states also use your federal 990 as the basis for state-level charitable registration renewals, meaning an accurate, on-time federal filing saves you work at the state level too. Confirm with your state charity office whether they require a copy of your 990 as part of annual registration.
Frequently asked questions
What is Form 990?
Form 990 is the annual information return the IRS requires from most tax-exempt organizations. It reports revenue, expenses, assets, and governance details. It's not an income tax bill; it's a transparency and compliance filing that keeps your group's tax-exempt status active and visible to the public.
What is the 990, in plain terms?
The 990 is basically an annual report card the IRS requires from nonprofits: how much money came in, how it was spent, who runs the organization, and whether it's still operating for its exempt purpose. There are three main sizes: 990-N, 990-EZ, and the full 990, based on your gross receipts and assets.
What is a 990 tax form and who has to file one?
It's the annual return most tax-exempt organizations, including booster clubs, PTOs, and youth sports groups, must file with the IRS every year. Nearly all recognized 501(c)(3) organizations must file some version, even tiny ones filing the simple 990-N e-Postcard, unless they're specifically exempted (like certain churches).
What does a treasurer do?
A treasurer tracks income and expenses, reconciles bank accounts monthly, safeguards cash from fundraisers, pays approved bills, reports financial status to the board, and handles annual compliance like the 990 filing and any state charity or raffle registrations.
What is a treasurer, and is it a legal position?
A treasurer is an officer position usually defined in an organization's bylaws, with legal responsibility for the group's funds and signing authority on bank accounts. It's more than an informal label; bylaws typically spell out the treasurer's duties and reporting requirements.
What do treasurers do differently at tax time versus the rest of the year?
Most months involve reconciliation and reporting. At tax time, treasurers pull the full year's financial records, determine gross receipts and total assets, choose the correct 990 variant (990-N, 990-EZ, or full 990), and file by the deadline, five months and 15 days after the fiscal year ends.
What does a club treasurer do if gross receipts are under $50,000?
If gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less, the club typically files Form 990-N, the e-Postcard, an eight-question online form with no financial statements required. It's free and usually takes under fifteen minutes once you have the EIN and legal name on hand.
What is the difference between Form 990 and Form 990-EZ?
Form 990-EZ is a shorter version available to organizations with gross receipts under $200,000 and total assets under $500,000. The full Form 990 is required above those thresholds and asks for much more detail on governance, compensation, and program expenses.
What happens if a booster club never files Form 990?
Missing one year usually just means late filing. Missing three consecutive years triggers automatic revocation of tax-exempt status under IRC 6033(j), with no additional IRS notice required. Reinstatement means refiling the exemption application plus the missed returns.
Does a small PTO really need to file anything with the IRS?
Yes, almost always, if the PTO holds federal tax-exempt status. Even organizations with $0 in gross receipts for the year generally still need to file Form 990-N annually to keep that status active. Confirm your specific filing obligation with the IRS.
How do I know which 990 form my organization should file this year?
Calculate your gross receipts (total money received before expenses) and total assets for the fiscal year just ended. Under $50,000 in receipts generally means 990-N; under $200,000 receipts and $500,000 assets generally means 990-EZ works; above either threshold generally requires the full Form 990.
Can a small nonprofit choose to file the full Form 990 even if it qualifies for the 990-N?
Yes. Organizations under the threshold for 990-N can voluntarily file the 990-EZ or full 990 instead if they want to show more financial detail, which some grant funders, sponsors, or banks prefer to see.
Is Form 990 the same as an audit?
No. Form 990 is a self-reported IRS filing, not an independent audit. Some states require an independent financial audit for larger nonprofits based on revenue thresholds, separate from the 990 filing requirement. Confirm your state's audit threshold with your state charity office.
Sources
- IRS, Form 990-EZ instructions and eligibility: Form 990-EZ eligibility generally requires gross receipts under $200,000 and total assets under $500,000
- IRS, Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations (Form 990-N): Form 990-N is for organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less and is filed only online
- IRS, Form 990 series glossary/gross receipts definition: Gross receipts means total amounts received from all sources before subtracting costs or expenses
- Internal Revenue Code Section 6033(j), automatic revocation for non-filing: Failure to file required 990-series returns for three consecutive years results in automatic revocation of tax-exempt status
- IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search and Auto-Revocation List: Organizations can check current exempt status and auto-revocation status through the IRS search tool