IRS Form 990 postcard: what it is and who must file it

Last updated 2026-07-24

What is the 990 postcard, exactly?

The "990 postcard" is nonprofit slang for Form 990-N, officially called the Electronic Notice (e-Postcard) for Tax-Exempt Organizations Not Required to File Form 990 or 990-EZ. It's not a paper postcard. It's an online form you fill out through the IRS website in about 10 minutes, and it exists because Congress decided in 2006 that tiny nonprofits shouldn't have to file a full tax return just to stay on the IRS radar ^[1]. Before 2008, small tax-exempt groups with under $25,000 in gross receipts didn't have to file anything at all. The IRS lost track of hundreds of thousands of them. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 fixed that by requiring every tax-exempt organization, no matter how small, to file something annually ^[2]. For the smallest groups, that "something" is the 990-N. If your booster club, PTO, or youth sports league brings in $50,000 or less in gross receipts in a typical year, the 990-N is almost certainly your filing. Bigger organizations file the full Form 990 or the shorter 990-EZ instead.

What is Form 990 (the full version), and how is it different from the postcard?

$50,000 or less	Form 990-N (postcard)
Less than $200,000, and total assets under $500,000	Form 990-EZ (or full 990)
$200,000 or more, or assets $500,000+	Form 990 (full)	These thresholds come from the IRS's own instructions for Form 990 and 990-EZ [3], but they can shift and have exceptions for private foundations and certain other entity types, so confirm your bracket against the current-year instructions before you file anything. A booster club running snack sales, a couple raffles, and a spring banquet usually stays well under $50,000. A district-wide PTO council with paid staff or a big carnival might blow past it. Check your actual gross receipts, not your bank balance, since gross receipts count money in before expenses come out.

Form 990 is the annual information return that tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS to report income, expenses, activities, and governance. It's a real tax form, sometimes 20+ pages with schedules, and it's public record once filed. The postcard (990-N) is the stripped-down version for organizations too small to need all that detail. Think of it as three tiers based on gross receipts, roughly: | Gross receipts (normal year) | Filing required |

What does a treasurer do, and where does the 990 fit in?

A treasurer is the person legally and practically responsible for an organization's money: tracking income and expenses, reconciling the bank account, reporting to the board, and making sure required filings actually get filed. For a volunteer group, that last part often gets missed, not because anyone is careless, but because the job hands off every year or two and nobody wrote anything down. What does a treasurer do in a club, concretely? Usually it's some combination of: collecting dues and fundraiser cash, paying vendors and reimbursing volunteers, keeping receipts and a ledger, presenting a budget or financial report at meetings, and filing the annual tax paperwork. What does a club treasurer do that a regular member doesn't? Signs checks, has bank access, and answers to the board (and eventually to the IRS) if the books don't add up. The 990 postcard is the single easiest treasurer task on the list, and also the most commonly forgotten one, because it has no dollar amount attached and no visible penalty the first time you miss it. That's exactly why so many booster clubs end up auto-revoked. See our treasurer basics hub for the fuller job description, but if you remember one thing from this section: filing the postcard every year is cheaper and faster than almost anything else on your plate, so don't let it slide.

Who has to file Form 990-N?

Any organization recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c) that normally has $50,000 or less in annual gross receipts must file the 990-N, unless it chooses to file the full 990 or 990-EZ instead ^[1]. This covers a lot of booster clubs, PTOs, and youth sports leagues that operate under their own 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) status. A few groups are exempt from filing anything: churches and their integrated auxiliaries, and organizations included in a group return, are the main carve-outs the IRS lists in the instructions to Form 990 ^[3]. If your booster club operates as its own separate legal entity with its own EIN, you almost certainly need to file something every year, even if you moved zero dollars. One wrinkle that trips up new treasurers: your organization has to already have tax-exempt status to file a 990-N. Filing a 990-N doesn't create tax-exempt status, it just reports on status you already have. If you're not sure your group is actually recognized as tax-exempt, search the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool before you file anything ^[4].

What information do you need to file the 990-N?

The e-Postcard asks for eight things, and the IRS genuinely built it to take a few minutes. 1. Employer Identification Number (EIN) 2. Tax year 3. Legal name and mailing address 4. Any other names the organization uses 5. Name and address of a principal officer 6. Website address (if you have one) 7. Confirmation that gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less 8. A statement if the organization has terminated ^[1] You'll file it through the IRS's e-Postcard system linked from irs.gov ^[1]. You'll need to create or use an IRS account (the login system has changed a few times over the years, so follow the current instructions on the IRS site rather than an old screenshot from a Facebook group). There's no cost. If someone tries to charge you a filing fee for the 990-N itself, be skeptical, though paying a bookkeeper or accountant for their time to do it for you is a different, legitimate thing.

When is the 990 postcard due?

Form 990-N is due by the 15th day of the 5th month after the end of your organization's accounting period ^[1]. For a booster club running on a calendar year (January through December), that's May 15. For a group on a school-year fiscal calendar (July through June, which a lot of PTOs and booster clubs use), that's November 15. There's no extension available for the 990-N specifically, and no paper alternative. If you miss the window, you just file it late (there's no penalty for a single late 990-N, unlike the full 990 which can carry daily penalties). The real danger isn't one late filing. It's three in a row. Mark the date on whatever calendar your board actually looks at, more than the treasurer's personal one. Handoffs are where this falls apart: outgoing treasurers who filed every year on time sometimes hand off the books in June without mentioning a November deadline, and the new person doesn't find out until year three.

What happens if you don't file the 990-N for three years?

The IRS automatically revokes tax-exempt status for any organization that fails to file its required 990 form (in any version, including the 990-N) for three consecutive years ^[2]. This is automatic, meaning there's no warning letter that says "last chance" and no human review before it happens. The law behind it is section 6033(j) of the Internal Revenue Code, added by the Pension Protection Act ^[5]. As the IRS states on its automatic revocation page: "the law requires the IRS to automatically revoke the tax-exempt status of any organization that does not file required Form 990-series returns or notices for three consecutive years" ^[2]. Once revoked, your organization loses its tax-exempt status retroactive to the filing due date of the third missed year. That means donations made to your group during the gap may not have been tax-deductible for your donors, and your organization may owe corporate income tax on money it took in during that period. The IRS publishes a searchable list of auto-revoked organizations through its Tax Exempt Organization Search system ^[4]. If this has already happened to your group, don't panic, but do act. The IRS has a formal reinstatement process laid out in Revenue Procedure 2014-11, which offers streamlined reinstatement options for smaller organizations that apply within a certain window of the revocation date, typically by refiling Form 1023 or 1023-EZ ^[6]. Check current fees and forms directly with the IRS since both change periodically.

How do you check if your organization is already auto-revoked?

Search your organization's name or EIN in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS) tool, available at irs.gov ^[4]. This tool shows current exempt status, the auto-revocation list, and copies of 990s the organization has filed in the past. It's free and takes about thirty seconds if you know your EIN. If you're a brand-new treasurer inheriting a shoebox of receipts and no filing history, this should be one of your first moves, before you worry about bank accounts or fundraiser paperwork. Finding out in year one that your group lost its exemption two years ago is a much better position than finding out in year four when a bank or grant funder asks for a determination letter you can't produce. If you don't know your EIN, check old bank statements, prior years' tax filings if any exist, or ask your national booster/PTO affiliate organization if you belong to one. Don't apply for a new EIN just because you can't find the old one; that can create duplicate-entity headaches that take longer to untangle than just tracking down the original number.

What if your organization's gross receipts go over $50,000?

If your gross receipts exceed $50,000 in a given year, you no longer qualify for the 990-N and need to file Form 990-EZ or the full Form 990 instead, depending on your total gross receipts and assets ^[3]. This isn't optional and isn't really a judgment call: it's based on the actual numbers for that tax year. A lot of booster clubs cross this line the year they run a big one-time fundraiser, like a car raffle or a large silent auction, without realizing gross receipts (not net profit) is the number that matters. A raffle that grosses $60,000 in ticket sales and nets $15,000 after prizes still counts as $60,000 in gross receipts for filing purposes, not $15,000. That distinction alone pushes more small booster clubs into 990-EZ territory than any other single event. The 990-EZ asks for a lot more than the postcard: a summary of revenue and expenses by category, a balance sheet, program service accomplishments, and information about officers and directors. It's still far shorter than the full Form 990, which large organizations with paid staff and complex finances file. If your numbers are borderline or trending upward, it's worth talking to a tax preparer familiar with nonprofits before you assume the postcard still applies.

Does filing the 990 postcard cost anything, or need a professional?

Filing Form 990-N itself costs nothing; the IRS provides the e-Postcard system for free directly on irs.gov ^[1]. For a genuinely small booster club with straightforward finances, most treasurers can file it themselves in under 15 minutes once they have the EIN and basic organization info handy. Where professional help earns its cost is everything around the filing, not the filing itself: catching up on years of missed filings, applying for reinstatement after auto-revocation, or figuring out whether you've crossed into 990-EZ territory. A bookkeeper or nonprofit-focused CPA can be worth a few hundred dollars in those situations. For a routine, on-time 990-N with clean books, paying someone else to click through eight questions is usually not worth it. This is also where having your organizational paperwork (EIN, prior filings, bylaws, board roster) organized in one place saves real time at handoff. The State-Personalized Treasurer Kit is built for exactly this gap: a one-time $99 packet that walks a new volunteer treasurer through what to file, when, and where the paperwork lives, personalized to your state's nonprofit and raffle rules. It's not a substitute for an accountant, but it's a lot better than a shoebox and a group text asking if anyone remembers the EIN.

What records should a treasurer keep for the 990 postcard?

Even though the 990-N itself doesn't require financial detail, you still need to know your gross receipts to confirm you qualify for it, and you need records if the IRS or a state charity regulator ever asks questions. Keep at minimum: a running ledger of income and expenses, bank statements, EIN documentation, prior years' filed 990-N confirmation emails or 990-EZ/990 copies, and your original IRS determination letter recognizing tax-exempt status. Many states also require separate charitable registration or renewal filings, on top of anything owed to the IRS. These are handled by a state attorney general's office or secretary of state charities division, not the IRS, and the rules vary widely by state. Confirm with your state charity office what, if anything, your organization owes there in addition to the federal 990 filing. Store this file somewhere that survives a treasurer handoff: a shared drive, a locked filing cabinet the whole board can access, or a physical binder passed to the next person, more than one volunteer's personal email inbox. The most common cause of a lapsed 990 filing streak isn't fraud or negligence. It's simply that nobody told the new treasurer the deadline existed.

Frequently asked questions

What is a treasurer?

A treasurer is the officer responsible for an organization's money: tracking income and expenses, reconciling accounts, reporting finances to the board, and making sure required filings like the 990 postcard get submitted on time. In a volunteer group, the treasurer is usually also the person with bank signing authority and the closest thing to a compliance officer.

What does a treasurer do in a club?

A club treasurer collects dues and fundraiser income, pays bills and reimburses expenses, keeps a ledger, presents financial reports at meetings, and handles annual tax filings like Form 990-N. Smaller clubs often combine this with light bookkeeping duties; larger ones may split treasurer and bookkeeper roles between two people.

What is Form 990?

Form 990 is the annual information return tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS reporting income, expenses, and governance. Organizations with $50,000 or less in gross receipts file the simplified 990-N (the "postcard") instead; mid-size groups file Form 990-EZ; larger organizations file the full Form 990 ^[5].

What is a 990 tax form used for?

It's an information return, not an income tax return; tax-exempt organizations use it to report their finances and activities to the IRS annually, which keeps them accountable and keeps their exempt status active. Failing to file any version for three straight years triggers automatic revocation of tax-exempt status ^[2].

What is the 990 postcard, in plain terms?

It's the nickname for Form 990-N, a free 8-question online filing for tax-exempt organizations with gross receipts normally under $50,000. It's not an actual mailed postcard; it's submitted electronically through the IRS website and takes most treasurers under 15 minutes ^[1].

Who is required to file Form 990-N?

Tax-exempt organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less must file it annually, unless they voluntarily file the longer 990-EZ or full 990 instead. Churches, their integrated auxiliaries, and organizations covered by a group return are generally exempt from this requirement ^[5].

What happens if a booster club never filed a 990 before?

Check the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool first to see current status and filing history ^[4]. If the organization has tax-exempt recognition but never filed, start filing the 990-N going forward and confirm with the IRS whether prior-year filings or a reinstatement application are also needed.

Can you file Form 990-N late?

Yes, there's no penalty for a single late 990-N filing, and no formal extension process since the form itself is so minimal. The real risk is missing three consecutive years, which triggers automatic revocation of tax-exempt status under IRC section 6033(j) with no advance warning ^[2].

How do you know if gross receipts qualify for the postcard versus the 990-EZ?

If your organization's gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less, file Form 990-N. If receipts are higher but under roughly $200,000 with assets under $500,000, file Form 990-EZ; above that, file the full Form 990. Confirm current thresholds with the IRS since they can be updated ^[5].

What does gross receipts mean for a booster club's 990 filing?

Gross receipts means total money that came in before subtracting any expenses, including full raffle ticket sales, event revenue, and dues, more than net profit after costs like prizes or supplies. A raffle grossing $55,000 counts as $55,000 even if net proceeds after prizes were only $10,000.

What's the deadline for filing the 990 postcard?

Form 990-N is due the 15th day of the 5th month after your organization's fiscal year ends. Calendar-year organizations (January to December) file by May 15; school-year organizations (July to June) file by November 15 ^[1].

Does a small PTO with under $50,000 in income still need to file anything?

Yes. Even organizations with zero or minimal income still must file Form 990-N annually to maintain tax-exempt status, unless they qualify for the narrow church or group-return exceptions. There is no minimum-income exemption from filing something every year ^[5].

Sources

1. IRS, Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations - Form 990-N (e-Postcard): Description of Form 990-N as an 8-question e-filing for organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less, due dates, and filing process
2. IRS, Automatic Revocation of Exemption: Automatic revocation after three consecutive years of failing to file, and quoted language describing the rule under IRC 6033(j)
3. 26 U.S.C. 6033(j), Internal Revenue Code: Statutory basis for automatic revocation of tax-exempt status after three consecutive years of not filing an annual return or notice
4. IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search: Free tool to check current exempt status, auto-revocation list, and past filings by EIN or name
5. IRS, Instructions for Form 990 and Form 990-EZ: Gross receipts and asset thresholds distinguishing Form 990-N, 990-EZ, and full Form 990 filing requirements
6. IRS, Revenue Procedure 2014-11: Streamlined reinstatement procedures for small organizations that had their tax-exempt status automatically revoked
7. Pension Protection Act of 2006, Pub. L. No. 109-280, section 1223: Statutory origin of the annual filing requirement for small tax-exempt organizations, including the creation of the 990-N notice requirement
8. IRS, Form 990-N (e-Postcard): Frequently Asked Questions: Additional filing process detail and common questions about submitting Form 990-N through the IRS electronic system