Last updated 2026-07-24
TL;DR
Form 990-EZ is for tax-exempt organizations with gross receipts under $200,000 and total assets under $500,000 for the tax year. Below those thresholds you can usually file 990-N instead; above them, you need the full Form 990. It's due the 15th day of the 5th month after your fiscal year ends, and missing three years in a row triggers automatic revocation.
What is Form 990, and where does 990-EZ fit in?
Form 990 is the annual information return that most tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS instead of a corporate income tax return. It reports revenue, expenses, program activities, and governance details so the IRS (and the public) can see how a nonprofit spends its money. Being tax-exempt doesn't mean you skip reporting. It means you report differently than a for-profit business does [1]. The IRS actually has a family of 990 forms, sized to the organization. There's Form 990-N (the "e-Postcard") for the smallest groups, Form 990-EZ for mid-size ones, the full Form 990 for larger organizations, and Form 990-PF for private foundations regardless of size [1]. 990-EZ sits in the middle: it's a real return with schedules, not a postcard, but it's shorter than the full 990. Most booster clubs, PTOs, and youth sports groups that have grown past the smallest tier end up filing 990-EZ at some point, often for a few years before either shrinking back down to 990-N eligibility or growing into full 990 territory. Knowing which form applies to you, and when that changes, is one of the first jobs a new treasurer has to nail down. For background on the whole family of forms, see form 990 and 990 tax form.
Who has to file Form 990-EZ (gross receipts and asset thresholds)?
| Smallest | Normally ≤ $50,000 | any | 990-N (e-Postcard) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-size | < $200,000 | < $500,000 | 990-EZ (or full 990) | |
| Larger | ≥ $200,000 OR | ≥ $500,000 | Form 990 | |
| Private foundations | any | any | 990-PF | Source: IRS, Form 990 Series instructions and 990-N eligibility page [2][3]. |
You can generally use Form 990-EZ if your organization's gross receipts were less than $200,000 and total assets at the end of the tax year were less than $500,000 [2]. Both conditions have to be true. If either number goes over the line, you're bumped up to the full Form 990. The IRS instructions put it plainly: "Organizations with gross receipts less than $200,000 and total assets less than $500,000 at the end of the tax year can file Form 990-EZ instead of Form 990" [2]. Notice that's an option, not a requirement. If you're in that band, you could also choose to file the full 990, though almost nobody does that voluntarily since it's more work. Gross receipts, for this purpose, means the total amount your organization received from all sources during the year, before subtracting any costs or expenses. That trips people up. A booster club that sold $180,000 in raffle tickets and paid out $150,000 in prizes still counts $180,000 in gross receipts, not $30,000 net, when checking the threshold [2]. | Filing tier | Gross receipts | Total assets | Form |
How is "gross receipts" actually calculated for the 990-EZ threshold?
Gross receipts is the total revenue your organization received during its annual accounting period from all sources, without subtracting any related costs or expenses [3]. That includes ticket sales, membership dues, concession revenue, sponsorships, grant money, and fundraiser proceeds, all added together before you subtract what it cost to run those events. The IRS also has a specific test for organizations whose gross receipts are "normally" at or below certain levels, which matters for figuring out whether you qualify for 990-N instead. For an organization in its first tax year, it qualifies if it received $75,000 or less in its first year. For an org in its first two years, the average of the two years must be $75,000 or less. For an org that's been around three years or more, gross receipts are considered normally $50,000 or less if the average over the prior three years (including the year you're filing for) is $50,000 or less [3]. This three-year averaging matters a lot for booster clubs with lumpy income. A big capital campaign year or an unusually successful tournament can push you over $50,000 in a single year without pushing your three-year average over the line, which means you might still qualify for 990-N even after a big year. Run the actual numbers each year rather than assuming last year's form still applies. More on the small-org form at 990-N and form 990-N.
What does a 990-EZ filing actually include? (schedules and required parts)
Form 990-EZ is four pages, but it's not simple in the way a postcard is. It asks for a revenue and expense summary, a balance sheet, a statement of program service accomplishments, officer and director compensation, and answers to a set of yes/no compliance questions that trigger additional schedules if you answer certain ways [2]. Common schedules that get attached to a booster club or PTO's 990-EZ include Schedule A (public charity status and public support test, required for most 501(c)(3) orgs), Schedule B (schedule of contributors, sometimes required depending on donor concentration), Schedule G (fundraising and gaming, often triggered if you ran a raffle or bingo night), and Schedule O (supplemental information, used to explain answers that don't fit in the boxes) [2]. If your group runs raffles or other gaming to raise money, don't skip Schedule G. The instructions require it when an organization reports more than $15,000 in gross income from gaming activities or more than $15,000 in gross income from fundraising events other than gaming [2]. A lot of small booster clubs get surprised by this the first year their spring raffle takes off. You also need your officers' names, titles, and average hours per week, even if nobody got paid. That's a governance disclosure, not a payroll form, but treasurers new to the job sometimes think it only applies if someone drew a salary.
When is Form 990-EZ due, and can you get an extension?
Form 990-EZ is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after the end of your organization's accounting period [4]. For a calendar-year filer (fiscal year ending December 31), that's May 15. For a fiscal year ending June 30, a common school-year cycle for booster clubs, the deadline is November 15. You can request an automatic 6-month extension by filing Form 8868 before the original due date [4]. That pushes a May 15 deadline to November 15. The extension is automatic in the sense that you don't need IRS approval, but you do need to actually file the form on time to get it; showing up late with excuses doesn't work the same way. Miss the deadline (and any extension) for three consecutive years, and the IRS automatically revokes your tax-exempt status by operation of law under Internal Revenue Code section 6033(j) [5]. There's no separate notice-and-warning process for the third miss. The revocation happens automatically once the third year's deadline passes without a filing. If you're already dealing with a revocation notice, see reinstatement guidance directly at irs.gov.
What's the difference between 990-N, 990-EZ, and the full Form 990?
| 990-N | normally ≤ $50,000 | no asset test | Under 15 minutes online | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 990-EZ | < $200,000 | < $500,000 | A few hours, more with schedules | |
| Form 990 | ≥ $200,000 or ≥ $500,000 assets | same | Multi-day project, often needs help | Source: IRS Form 990 series filing thresholds [2][3]. A private foundation files Form 990-PF regardless of size. That's a separate track most booster clubs and PTOs never touch since they're public charities, not foundations. See the full comparison at [990](/articles/treasurer-basics/990) and irs form 990. |
The three forms scale with size, and picking the wrong one is one of the most common new-treasurer mistakes. Here's the practical breakdown. 990-N (e-Postcard) is for organizations whose gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less [3]. It's eight questions online, no paper, no schedules, and takes about 10 minutes if you have your EIN and basic org info handy. 990-EZ is for organizations with gross receipts under $200,000 and total assets under $500,000 [2]. It's a real return: four pages plus schedules, asking for a revenue/expense summary, balance sheet, and program accomplishments. Form 990 (full form) is required once gross receipts hit $200,000 or more, or total assets hit $500,000 or more, whichever happens first [2]. It's substantially longer, often 12+ pages plus schedules, and usually where organizations start thinking seriously about hiring a bookkeeper or a CPA for the year-end close. | Form | Gross receipts | Total assets | Rough filing effort |
What happens if you file the wrong form, or file late?
Filing the wrong form generally isn't a disaster if you catch it and correct course the next year; the IRS's bigger concern is a return not showing up at all. If you file 990-N when you should have filed 990-EZ (because your gross receipts crept over $50,000 on a three-year average), the practical fix is just to file the correct form next year and, if you want to be careful, consider whether an amended return makes sense for the year you got it wrong. Confirm the right approach with the IRS or a qualified preparer rather than guessing. The real risk is silence. Automatic revocation under IRC 6033(j) kicks in after three consecutive years of not filing any required return or notice [5]. Once revoked, you lose your tax-exempt status, your donors can't deduct contributions to you retroactively from the revocation date, and you may owe corporate income tax on income you earned while your status was lapsed. Again, confirm the specifics with the IRS or a tax professional since reinstatement rules and any relief provisions can change. The IRS publishes a searchable list of organizations that have been auto-revoked, called the Tax Exempt Organization Search or the Auto-Revocation List [6]. If you're not sure whether your booster club's status is intact, that's the first place to check before you assume everything is fine.
What do you need to gather before you start a 990-EZ?
Before you sit down to file, pull together your bank statements for the full fiscal year, a list of all fundraisers and gross revenue from each one, your check register or accounting software export, a current list of officers and directors with rough hours per week, and prior year's 990 if one exists (you'll need it for continuity and comparison figures). If you ran a raffle, bingo night, or other gaming activity, separate that revenue and the associated prize/expense costs specifically, since Schedule G asks for it broken out [2]. If you took in more than $5,000 from any single contributor, keep that documented too; Schedule B has its own disclosure rules depending on your organization's public charity classification. A lot of the pain in filing 990-EZ isn't the form itself. It's reconstructing a year of scattered fundraiser income and expenses from a checkbook register kept in a shoebox by whoever had the job before you. This is exactly the gap a state-personalized setup helps close: BoosterLedger's $99 one-time Treasurer Kit gives you the categorized income/expense structure and recordkeeping habits that make next year's 990-EZ take an afternoon instead of a weekend of forensic accounting.
What does a treasurer do, and how does it connect to filing 990-EZ?
A treasurer is the officer responsible for an organization's money: tracking income and expenses, keeping the bank accounts reconciled, presenting financial reports to the board or membership, and making sure required filings like Form 990-EZ actually get done on time. In a booster club or PTO, that's usually a volunteer parent, not a professional accountant, which is exactly why the filing thresholds and deadlines above matter so much. Nobody else is going to catch a missed deadline for you. What does a club treasurer do day to day? Collect dues and fundraiser proceeds, pay vendors and reimburse volunteers, keep receipts and a ledger, prepare a budget or financial report for meetings, and hand off clean records to the next treasurer. What does a treasurer do in a club that's smaller and less formal, like a single-team booster group? Often the same job at a smaller scale: one checking account, a shoebox or spreadsheet of receipts, and an annual filing obligation that doesn't shrink just because the group is small. The filing side of the job (990-N, 990-EZ, or full 990, depending on size) is one piece of what treasurers do, but it's the piece with a hard federal deadline and a real penalty (auto-revocation) for ignoring it three years running [5]. Everything else, budgets, reimbursements, bank reconciliations, is judgment and habit; the 990 filing is a fixed date on the calendar that doesn't move for anyone.
Does 990-EZ replace state charity filings?
No. Form 990-EZ is a federal filing with the IRS. Most states with charitable solicitation laws require a separate annual or biennial registration or renewal with the state charity official, usually the attorney general's office or secretary of state, regardless of whether you file 990-N, 990-EZ, or the full 990 federally. Requirements vary widely by state: some exempt small organizations below a revenue threshold, some require an audited financial statement above a certain size, and some just want a copy of your 990 attached to a state form. Because these rules genuinely differ and change, confirm the current requirement with your state charity office or attorney general's charitable registration division before assuming your federal 990-EZ filing covers you at the state level too. If your club runs a raffle as one of its fundraisers, that's usually an entirely separate state licensing requirement on top of both the federal 990 and any state charity registration. Confirm with your state's gaming or attorney general's office what's required before you sell a single ticket.
Frequently asked questions
What is Form 990?
Form 990 is the annual information return the IRS requires from most tax-exempt organizations instead of a corporate income tax return. It reports revenue, expenses, and governance details. There are several versions sized by organization size: 990-N, 990-EZ, the full Form 990, and 990-PF for private foundations [1].
What is a 990 tax form used for?
It's a public information return, not a tax bill in most cases, since most filers owe no income tax on exempt-purpose income. It shows the IRS and the public how much money came in, where it went, who runs the organization, and whether it's still operating within its tax-exempt purpose [1].
Who qualifies to file Form 990-EZ?
Organizations with gross receipts under $200,000 and total assets under $500,000 at the end of the tax year can file Form 990-EZ instead of the full Form 990 [2]. Both thresholds must be met; if either is exceeded, the full Form 990 is required.
What is the difference between gross receipts and net income for the 990-EZ threshold?
Gross receipts counts all money received during the year before subtracting any expenses or costs, unlike net income. A raffle that brought in $100,000 and cost $60,000 in prizes still counts as $100,000 in gross receipts when checking your filing threshold [3].
When is Form 990-EZ due?
It's due the 15th day of the 5th month after your organization's fiscal year ends: May 15 for calendar-year filers, November 15 for June 30 fiscal year-end filers. A 6-month automatic extension is available by filing Form 8868 before the original deadline [4].
What happens if a booster club misses the 990-EZ deadline for three years?
The organization's tax-exempt status is automatically revoked by operation of law under Internal Revenue Code section 6033(j), with no separate notice process required for the third missed year [5]. Reinstatement requires a formal application to the IRS; confirm the current process directly with irs.gov.
What does a treasurer do?
A treasurer tracks income and expenses, reconciles bank accounts, reports finances to the board, and handles required filings like the 990 series. In volunteer organizations it's usually an unpaid parent or member role, not a professional accounting position, though the legal filing deadlines still apply.
What does a club treasurer do differently from a company treasurer?
The core job is the same, tracking money and reporting on it, but a club treasurer usually manages far smaller sums with volunteer help instead of paid staff, and still carries the same federal filing obligation (990-N, 990-EZ, or full 990) depending on the club's size.
Can a small booster club file 990-N instead of 990-EZ?
Yes, if gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less using the IRS's averaging test (or $75,000 or less in the first tax year). Above that, 990-EZ generally applies once you're under $200,000 in gross receipts and $500,000 in total assets [3].
Does filing Form 990-EZ satisfy state charity registration requirements too?
No. Form 990-EZ is a federal IRS filing only. Most states with charitable solicitation laws require a separate state registration or renewal, sometimes annually, with the attorney general's office or secretary of state. Confirm your state's specific requirement with your state charity office.
What schedule do booster clubs need if they ran a raffle?
Schedule G is generally required on Form 990-EZ if gross income from gaming activities (including raffles) exceeds $15,000, or if gross income from non-gaming fundraising events exceeds $15,000 [2]. Track raffle revenue and prize costs separately all year to make this easier.
What is the 990 e-Postcard?
The e-Postcard, formally Form 990-N, is a short online-only filing for tax-exempt organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less. It asks about eight basic questions (EIN, name, address, principal officer) and has no paper version or financial schedules [3].
Sources
- IRS, About Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax: Form 990 series is the annual information return required of most tax-exempt organizations, sized by organization type and revenue
- IRS, 2023 Instructions for Form 990-EZ: Gross receipts under $200,000 and total assets under $500,000 threshold for Form 990-EZ eligibility, schedule requirements including Schedule G $15,000 gaming/fundraising threshold
- IRS, Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations (Form 990-N): Gross receipts normally $50,000 or less test (with $75,000 first-year and averaging rules) for Form 990-N eligibility, and gross receipts defined without subtracting costs
- IRS, Form 8868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File an Exempt Organization Return: Automatic 6-month extension available for Form 990-EZ by filing Form 8868 before the original due date
- 26 U.S.C. § 6033(j), Internal Revenue Code: Automatic revocation of tax-exempt status after three consecutive years of failing to file a required annual return or notice
- IRS, Automatic Revocation of Exemption List: IRS maintains a searchable list of organizations that have had tax-exempt status automatically revoked