Last updated 2026-07-24
TL;DR
Form 990 is the annual information return tax-exempt nonprofits file with the IRS. Which version depends on gross receipts: under $50,000 means the 990-N e-Postcard, $50,000 to $200,000 usually means the 990-EZ, and larger orgs file the full 990. Miss it three years running and the IRS auto-revokes your tax-exempt status.
what is form 990?
Form 990 is the annual information return the IRS requires from most tax-exempt organizations, including 501(c)(3) booster clubs, PTOs, and youth sports leagues. It's not an income tax return in the way a business files one. It's a public disclosure document: the IRS and anyone else (donors, GuideStar, state regulators) can look at it to see how much money came in, how it got spent, and who ran the organization that year. The IRS says the 990 series is designed so "tax-exempt organizations, nonexempt charitable trusts, and section 527 political organizations" can meet their annual reporting requirements [1]. There's no single "the 990" form. There's a family of them, and which one applies to your booster club depends almost entirely on how much money moved through your accounts that year. If your club has 501(c)(3) status (or is applying for it, or somehow lost track of whether it has it), you're on the hook for one version of this filing every single year, even in a year you raised almost nothing. That last part surprises a lot of new treasurers. Zero activity is not an exemption from filing. It just means you'll likely file the shortest version.
what is a 990 tax form, exactly, and who has to file one?
A 990 tax form is the annual information return required of organizations recognized as tax-exempt under Internal Revenue Code section 501, most commonly 501(c)(3) charities [2]. Booster clubs, PTOs, and youth sports associations that have applied for and received 501(c)(3) or a related exemption fall into this bucket. Groups that never applied for exemption (an informal parent group with an EIN and a bank account but no IRS determination letter) technically aren't in the 990 system at all, though most eventually need to formalize if they want tax-deductible donations or grant eligibility. Churches and some church-affiliated organizations are excluded from the annual filing requirement entirely [3]. Almost nothing else is. Small size does not get you out of it; it just changes which version you file. The filing deadline is the 15th day of the 5th month after your organization's accounting period ends [4]. For a booster club running on a calendar year, that's May 15. For a club running a fiscal year that matches the school year (July 1 to June 30), that's November 15. Get this date wrong and you start the clock toward auto-revocation without realizing it.
which version of the 990 does a booster club or PTO actually file?
| Normally $50,000 or less | any | 990-N (e-Postcard) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Less than $200,000 | Less than $500,000 | 990-EZ (or full 990) | |
| $200,000 or more | any, or assets $500,000+ | Form 990 (full) | The IRS states the 990-N threshold plainly: "most small tax-exempt organizations whose annual gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less" file the e-Postcard [5]. Organizations under those thresholds can also choose to file the 990-EZ or full 990 voluntarily, some do this because a grant funder or state charity office wants a more detailed filing on record, but nothing requires it. Most single-team booster clubs and small PTOs land in the 990-N bucket. A concession stand, a few fundraisers, some uniform sales, that adds up fast, but rarely past $50,000 in a normal year. Larger district-wide booster organizations, competitive travel programs, or PTOs running big facilities campaigns often cross into 990-EZ or full 990 territory, especially in a year with a large one-time gift or capital campaign. "Normally" is the IRS's word, and it matters. The threshold is based on a rolling average over 3 years, not a single year's total, so one unusually big fundraiser doesn't automatically bump you up, and one unusually quiet year doesn't automatically bump you down [5]. |
This is the question that matters most for a volunteer treasurer, and the answer comes down to gross receipts and total assets for the year. | Gross receipts (annual) | Total assets | Form required |
what is the 990-N e-postcard and how do you actually file it?
The 990-N, often called the e-Postcard, is the simplest version: eight pieces of information submitted online, with no financial detail required beyond confirming you're under the $50,000 gross receipts threshold. You file it through the IRS's e-Postcard system at irs.gov, not by mail [6]. You'll need: your EIN, tax year, legal name and mailing address, any other names the organization uses, the name and address of a principal officer, your website if you have one, and a confirmation that annual gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less [6]. That's it. No revenue and expense detail, no board list, no program description. There's no dollar penalty for filing the 990-N late, which throws people off. But don't read that as "it doesn't matter." The IRS still counts a missed 990-N toward the three-year non-filing clock that leads to automatic revocation of tax-exempt status. Miss it once, nothing happens. Miss it three years running and your exemption is gone, retroactive to the original filing due date [7].
what happens if you file the wrong 990 form, or file late?
Filing the wrong version isn't usually a disaster in itself, the IRS generally cares more that something got filed than that it was the theoretically ideal form. Filing a 990-EZ when you technically qualified for the 990-N won't get you in trouble. Filing a 990-N when your gross receipts actually crossed $50,000 is a bigger problem, because you've under-disclosed and may need to amend. Late filing penalties differ by form. For 990-EZ and full 990 filers, the IRS can assess penalties calculated per day the return is late, with maximums tied to the organization's gross receipts; the exact daily rate and caps are adjusted periodically, so confirm current figures directly with the IRS [8]. The 990-N carries no late fee, but again, it still counts toward revocation. The real risk for volunteer-run booster clubs isn't the penalty on any single late 990. It's three years of silence. A new treasurer inherits a shoebox, doesn't know a 990 was ever required, and two prior treasurers already skipped it without telling anyone. That's how a 15-year-old booster club with a real EIN and a real bank account suddenly discovers its 501(c)(3) status vanished two years ago.
what is irs auto-revocation and how do you know if it happened to you?
Automatic revocation happens when a tax-exempt organization fails to file any required 990 (990-N, 990-EZ, or full 990) for three consecutive years. The revocation is automatic by law under Internal Revenue Code section 6033(j), effective as of the original filing due date of the third missed year, and the IRS states organizations "will not receive a legal notice concerning their filing failure or their loss of exempt status other than through the annual notice" process before the deadline [7]. Check your status directly. The IRS maintains a searchable Tax Exempt Organization Search tool, and there's a separate published Auto-Revocation List you can search by name, EIN, or state [9]. Don't rely on memory or on what the last treasurer told you. Search your EIN. It takes two minutes and it's the single most important thing a new treasurer should do in the first week on the job. If your club is on the list, you're not automatically shut down as an organization, but you've lost the 501(c)(3) exemption, which means donations to your club are no longer tax-deductible for donors, and depending on your state, you may lose state sales tax exemption or property tax exemption too. Getting reinstated involves filing Form 1023 or 1023-EZ again (the IRS calls this "applying for reinstatement"), and there are streamlined retroactive reinstatement procedures for organizations that qualify, generally those applying within 15 months of revocation and that were eligible to file 990-N or 990-EZ . This is one of the areas where getting it wrong costs real money and real time, and it's worth reading the irs form 990 guidance and, honestly, worth a conversation with an accountant who's handled a reinstatement before, more than a form fill-in.
what does a treasurer do? (and why the 990 lands on their desk)
A treasurer manages an organization's money: tracking income and expenses, keeping bank records straight, reporting to the board, and making sure required filings, including whichever 990 applies, actually happen on time. In a booster club or PTO, this is almost always a volunteer job, often held by a parent with no accounting background, for one or two years before handing it to the next volunteer. What does a club treasurer do in practice, week to week? Deposit checks and cash from fundraisers. Reconcile the bank statement monthly. Pay approved invoices, ideally with two signatures on anything over a set threshold. Keep receipts organized enough that an audit or a new treasurer could reconstruct the year. Present a budget-to-actual report at board meetings. File the annual 990. Renew any state charitable solicitation registration [see raffles-by-state hub for state-specific licensing questions]. That's the job in one paragraph, and it's a lot for one volunteer, which is why so many booster clubs end up with a missed 990 buried somewhere in the transition between treasurers. What does a treasurer of a club do differently from a treasurer at a business? A business treasurer answers to shareholders and cares about profit. A booster club treasurer answers to a volunteer board and to the IRS's public disclosure requirements, and the job is less about growing money and more about keeping it clean, documented, and compliant. The 990, in that sense, isn't a side task bolted onto the treasurer role. It's close to the core of it: the annual proof that the money was handled honestly and the organization is still doing what it told the IRS it would do.
what information goes on the 990-EZ or full form 990?
Once you're past the 990-N threshold, the form asks for real financial detail, and this is where a disorganized year of receipts becomes a real headache. Form 990-EZ asks for a summary of revenue and expenses by category, a balance sheet, a list of officers/directors/key employees and their compensation (even if it's $0, which it usually is for volunteer boards), and a description of program service accomplishments . The full Form 990 asks for all of that at greater depth, plus additional schedules depending on your activities, things like Schedule G if you ran a raffle or gaming event above certain thresholds, or Schedule A confirming your public charity status . Compensation disclosure trips people up. Even if no officer or board member got paid a dime, the form still asks you to list them and confirm $0. Skipping this section because "nobody got paid" is a common error that gets returns kicked back or flagged. Good books make this section painless. Bad books make it take a full weekend of receipt archaeology. This is the practical argument for keeping a simple running ledger all year instead of reconstructing everything in April: by the time the 990 is due, the numbers should already exist somewhere clean, not buried in a shoebox of Venmo screenshots and concession-stand cash envelopes.
do state charity or raffle rules add another filing on top of the 990?
Often, yes, and this is the part new treasurers miss most. The federal 990 is an IRS requirement. Separately, most states require charitable organizations to register with a state charity office or attorney general before soliciting donations, and many require an annual renewal, sometimes with its own financial reporting attached. These are two different filings to two different governments, and one does not substitute for the other. If your booster club runs a raffle, that adds a third layer: a state raffle or gaming license, usually issued by the same charity office or a separate gaming commission, with its own application, fee, and reporting deadline. Requirements vary enormously by state, some states exempt small nonprofit raffles entirely, others require a license renewed annually with a post-event financial report. Confirm the current rules with your state charity office or attorney general before running any raffle or major solicitation drive. The practical takeaway: don't assume filing the 990 means you're done for the year. Check your state charity registration status alongside your federal 990 status, ideally on the same calendar reminder, so neither one quietly lapses while you're focused on the other.
what does a treasurer do if the club has never filed a 990 before?
Start by finding the EIN. Every organization that has ever opened a bank account under the club's name should have one; check old bank paperwork, prior tax filings, or ask the bank directly. Without the EIN you can't search IRS records or file anything. Next, search the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search and Auto-Revocation List using that EIN [9]. This tells you three things at once: whether the organization ever actually had 501(c)(3) status, whether it's currently revoked, and what the last filed 990 (if any) looked like. If you find the club was never actually a recognized 501(c)(3), that changes everything, you may be a nonprofit corporation under state law without federal tax exemption, which means Form 1023 or 1023-EZ needs to be filed for the first time, not a reinstatement . If you find it was exempt and got auto-revoked, you're looking at the reinstatement process described above. If you find it's current and in good standing, you just need to file this year's 990 on time and keep it that way. This is exactly the kind of research a new volunteer treasurer has to do in the first month, and it's the reason a lot of clubs end up building a simple, state-specific reference for whoever holds the job next. That's the whole idea behind our $99 State-Personalized Treasurer Kit: a one-time build of your state's specific registration links, deadlines, and a filing checklist, so the next volunteer isn't starting from zero with a shoebox and a Google search.
what does a treasurer do to keep the 990 easy every year after this?
Set a recurring reminder tied to your fiscal year end, not the calendar year, since the 990 deadline is the 15th day of the 5th month after your fiscal year closes [4]. Mark it on the board's shared calendar, more than the treasurer's personal one, so it survives a leadership change. Keep a running income and expense ledger all year, updated monthly, not reconstructed once a year from memory and receipts. Reconcile the bank account every month. At year end, total revenue and expenses by category ahead of time so the 990-N threshold check, or the 990-EZ categories, are already answered before you open the form. Do a five-minute handoff check every time the treasurer role changes hands: confirm the EIN, confirm current 501(c)(3) status on the IRS search tool, confirm the last 990 filed and when, confirm the state charity registration status. That single checklist habit is what actually prevents the three-years-of-silence scenario that leads to auto-revocation. See also 990-n and form-990-n for the e-Postcard filing steps in more detail, and 990-tax-form for a broader walkthrough of the whole 990 family.
Frequently asked questions
what is form 990?
Form 990 is the annual information return the IRS requires from most tax-exempt organizations, including 501(c)(3) booster clubs and PTOs. It reports income, expenses, and leadership to the public. Which version you file (990-N, 990-EZ, or full 990) depends on your gross receipts and total assets for the year [1][5].
what is the 990?
"The 990" usually refers to whichever version of Form 990 applies to your organization's size: the 990-N e-Postcard for gross receipts normally under $50,000, the 990-EZ for receipts under $200,000 and assets under $500,000, or the full Form 990 above those thresholds [5].
what is a 990 tax form?
A 990 tax form is the IRS's annual public disclosure return for tax-exempt organizations under Internal Revenue Code section 501, most commonly 501(c)(3) charities. It's not an income tax bill, it's a reporting requirement that keeps your tax-exempt status active and visible to the public [2].
what does a treasurer do?
A treasurer manages an organization's money: tracking income and expenses, reconciling bank accounts, reporting to the board, and handling required filings like the annual 990 and any state charity registration renewal. In a booster club or PTO, it's typically an unpaid volunteer role held for one or two years by a parent.
what is a treasurer?
A treasurer is the officer responsible for an organization's finances: recording transactions, safeguarding funds, and reporting financial status to the board and to regulators. In nonprofits like booster clubs, the treasurer also usually owns the annual IRS 990 filing and any state charitable registration renewal.
what do treasurers do day to day?
Day to day, a treasurer deposits fundraiser income, pays approved bills, keeps receipts filed, and reconciles the bank statement monthly. Periodically they present budget reports to the board, and annually they handle the 990 filing and any state charity or raffle license renewal.
what does a club treasurer do differently from a corporate treasurer?
A club treasurer answers to a volunteer board and IRS public disclosure rules rather than shareholders and profit targets. The job centers on clean recordkeeping, honest reporting, and staying compliant with the annual 990 and state charity rules, not on growing the organization's money or investment returns.
does every nonprofit have to file a 990?
Almost every 501(c)(3) organization must file some version of the 990 annually, even with zero activity. Churches and certain church-affiliated organizations are the main exception [3]. There is no minimum-size exemption from filing; smaller organizations just file the simpler 990-N e-Postcard instead of the full form [5].
what happens if a booster club never files a 990?
Missing one year usually triggers no direct penalty for a 990-N filer, though 990-EZ and full-990 filers can face daily late penalties [8]. Missing three consecutive years triggers automatic revocation of tax-exempt status under IRC 6033(j), with no advance warning notice beyond the annual filing reminder [7].
how do you check if your organization's tax-exempt status was revoked?
Search your organization's EIN or name in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool and the separately published Auto-Revocation List, both available at irs.gov [9]. This shows current exemption status, the date of any revocation, and the organization's filing history.
what's the deadline for filing a 990?
The 990 is due the 15th day of the 5th month after your organization's accounting period ends. For a calendar-year club, that's May 15. For a club on a school-year fiscal calendar (July to June), that's November 15 [4].
can a booster club file the 990-N if it also runs a raffle?
Yes, running a raffle doesn't automatically bump you out of 990-N eligibility; that's determined by gross receipts (normally $50,000 or less) [5]. But raffle income counts toward that threshold, and larger raffles may also trigger a separate state raffle license and IRS gaming disclosure (Schedule G on the full 990). Confirm with the IRS and your state charity office.
what's the difference between the 990-N, 990-EZ, and full 990?
The 990-N is an 8-field online postcard for organizations with gross receipts normally under $50,000, with no financial detail required. The 990-EZ requires revenue/expense summaries and officer lists for receipts under $200,000 and assets under $500,000. The full 990 requires the most detail and applies above those thresholds [5][11].
Sources
- IRS, Annual Filing and Forms: Purpose and overview of the 990 series for tax-exempt organizations
- IRS, Exemption Requirements - 501(c)(3) Organizations: 501(c)(3) organizations are the entities generally required to file the 990 series
- IRS, Annual Exempt Organization Return: Who Must File: Churches and certain church-affiliated organizations are excluded from the annual 990 filing requirement
- IRS, Form 990 Series Filing Due Dates: 990 filings are due the 15th day of the 5th month after the accounting period ends
- IRS, Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations (Form 990-N): 990-N eligibility threshold of gross receipts normally $50,000 or less, and the 990-EZ/990 asset and receipt thresholds
- IRS, Automatic Revocation of Exemption: Three consecutive years of non-filing triggers automatic revocation with no separate legal notice
- IRS, Form 990 Instructions (Penalties): Late filing penalties for 990-EZ and full Form 990 are assessed per day with caps tied to gross receipts
- IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search: Searchable tool for checking exemption status and the Auto-Revocation List
- IRS, About Form 990-EZ: Form 990-EZ requires revenue/expense summary, balance sheet, and officer/director compensation disclosure