Last updated 2026-07-25
TL;DR
There's no IRS form called "990-W" for nonprofits (that number belongs to a corporate estimated-tax worksheet). If you're a booster club or PTO treasurer, you likely mean Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-N, the annual information returns tax-exempt groups file with the IRS. Which one depends on your group's gross receipts and assets.
Is there a Form 990-W for nonprofits?
No. If you searched "990w" hoping to find a nonprofit filing form, you landed on the wrong number. IRS Form 990-W is titled "Estimated Tax on Unrelated Business Taxable Income for Tax-Exempt Organizations" and it's a worksheet, not a return you file and mail in. It helps an organization figure out if it owes quarterly estimated tax on unrelated business income, which is a narrow situation most volunteer-run booster clubs, PTOs, and youth sports groups never hit [1]. What you almost certainly mean is Form 990, the family of annual information returns that tax-exempt organizations file every year to stay in good standing with the IRS. That's the form that keeps your group's 501(c)(3) or other tax-exempt status alive. Miss it three years running and the IRS automatically revokes your exemption, no warning letter required beyond the filing reminders it already sent [2]. This article covers what Form 990 actually is, which version applies to your group, and (since so many people land on this topic while trying to understand the treasurer's job itself) exactly what a treasurer does day to day. If you're here from a Google search for "990w," you're in the right place, just not for the reason you typed.
What is Form 990?
| 990-N (e-Postcard) | Smallest orgs | Gross receipts normally $50,000 or less [4] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 990-EZ | Small/mid orgs | Gross receipts under $200,000 AND total assets under $500,000 [5] | |
| 990 (full) | Larger orgs | Gross receipts $200,000+ OR total assets $500,000+ [5] | |
| 990-PF | Private foundations | All private foundations, regardless of size [5] | Most school booster clubs and small PTOs fall into the 990-N or 990-EZ bucket. If your group's fundraising has grown (a big raffle year, a large capital campaign for uniforms or equipment), check the thresholds again; you might have moved up a tier without anyone noticing. For more on the e-Postcard specifically, see 990-N and Form 990-N. |
Form 990 is the annual information return that most tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS. It is not an income tax return in the way a business files one; a properly exempt group generally owes no federal income tax on its mission-related activities. Instead, Form 990 reports revenue, expenses, assets, governance practices, and compensation to the public and to the IRS, so the exemption stays accountable [2]. The IRS describes the return's purpose plainly: exempt organizations "generally must file annual returns," and the agency uses the data for both compliance checks and public transparency, since completed 990s become public record through sites like the IRS's Tax Exempt Organization Search and third-party databases [2][3]. There isn't one single "990" form. There's a family of them, sized to the organization: | Form | Who files it | Rough threshold |
What is a 990 tax form, exactly, in plain English?
Think of it as your organization's yearly report card to the federal government and, indirectly, to the public. It answers questions like: how much money came in, where did it go, who got paid and how much, does the board actually meet, and does the group have conflict-of-interest policies. It is filed instead of a corporate income tax return because the organization is tax-exempt, not because it's exempt from reporting. The IRS's own instructions call it a way to "provide the IRS with the information required by section 6033" of the tax code, which is the statute that creates the filing requirement in the first place [6]. That section is why every exempt organization, no matter how small, owes the IRS something every year. Even a $3,000-budget booster club filing the free 990-N e-Postcard is fulfilling a legal obligation, not doing a favor. A few things people get wrong: the 990 is not the same as your state charity registration renewal (many states require a separate annual filing, sometimes attaching a copy of the 990). It's not the same as your state sales tax exemption paperwork either. And filing a 990 doesn't create your tax-exempt status; the IRS determination letter (or automatic exemption for certain small groups) does that. The 990 just maintains it. See Form 990 and 990 tax form for more on the mechanics.
What is the 990-N e-Postcard and who has to file it?
The 990-N is the stripped-down version for the smallest exempt organizations, those with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less per year [4]. It's called the e-Postcard because that's about how much information it asks for: your EIN, tax year, legal name and address, confirmation that receipts are under the threshold, and a couple of yes/no questions. There is no paper option. The IRS requires electronic filing through its website, and as of the current system, organizations file through IRS.gov directly (older third-party portals for 990-N have been phased out; check IRS.gov for the current filing link) [4]. It's free. If anyone tries to charge you a large fee just to submit the e-Postcard itself, that's a red flag, though paying a bookkeeper or an accountant for their time to handle it for you is reasonable. Miss it, and nothing dramatic happens after year one or two. Miss it three years in a row, and the IRS automatically revokes the organization's tax-exempt status, per Internal Revenue Code section 6033(j) [7]. That revocation is genuinely serious: it means, among other things, that donations to your group are no longer automatically tax-deductible to donors, and the organization may owe corporate income tax going forward until exemption is reinstated.
What happens if a booster club or PTO misses three years of 990 filings?
Automatic revocation. The IRS Restoration of Tax-Exempt status process exists for exactly this, and it's more common than most volunteer treasurers realize; the IRS publishes an entire searchable list of automatically revoked organizations . Groups end up there constantly, usually because a treasurer moved on, nobody transferred filing responsibility, and three years passed quietly. Recovery is possible but takes real paperwork. Depending on how much time has passed and the group's filing history, the IRS offers streamlined retroactive reinstatement for small organizations that file Form 1023 or 1023-EZ within a certain window (currently 15 months of the revocation date, per Rev. Proc. 2014-11 guidance referenced on IRS.gov), along with the delinquent 990s . Miss that window and the process gets more expensive and slower, sometimes requiring reasonable-cause statements explaining the lapse. The honest advice here: if your group appears on the IRS auto-revocation list, don't panic, but don't wait either. Confirm with the IRS and your state charity office what's needed before you accept new donations promising tax-deductibility you may not currently have. This is a good moment to bring in a CPA or nonprofit attorney rather than guess; the forms involved (1023-EZ, delinquent 990s, sometimes a reasonable-cause letter) have real consequences if filled out wrong.
What does a treasurer do?
A treasurer is the person responsible for a club, PTO, or booster organization's money: tracking it, protecting it, reporting on it, and making sure the group stays compliant with the IRS and state requirements that come with handling other people's donations and fundraising dollars. In practice, the job usually breaks into four buckets. First, bookkeeping: recording every deposit and expense, reconciling the bank statement monthly, and keeping receipts organized enough that someone else could follow the trail a year later. Second, reporting: giving the board a clear picture of cash on hand, upcoming expenses, and fundraising progress at every meeting. Third, compliance: filing the right version of Form 990 each year, renewing any state charitable solicitation registration, and handling raffle or gaming license paperwork if the group runs raffles. Fourth, controls: making sure no single person (including the treasurer) is the only one who can move money, which usually means two signers on checks, a second person reviewing bank statements, and a clean handoff plan for the next treasurer. None of this requires an accounting degree. It requires consistency: doing the boring reconciliation every month instead of trying to reconstruct twelve months of transactions in April.
What is a treasurer, and what do treasurers do differently across clubs, PTOs, and booster groups?
The core job is the same everywhere: be the steward of the group's money and its financial paper trail. The specifics shift depending on the type of organization. A PTO treasurer usually deals with recurring, predictable income (membership dues, book fairs, a couple of big fall/spring fundraisers) and a school-year budget cycle that resets every August. A booster club treasurer often handles more volatile cash: gate receipts at games, concession stand cash, raffle ticket sales, sponsorship checks from local businesses, and equipment purchases that can be large relative to the group's total budget. A small youth sports club treasurer might be managing player fees, uniform costs, and a modest bank balance with almost no paid staff anywhere in the organization. What doesn't change: the IRS doesn't care what kind of exempt group you run for the 990 filing requirement or the three-year auto-revocation rule. A $12,000/year robotics booster club and a $180,000/year regional soccer club both have to file something every year, they just file different versions of it.
What does a club treasurer do day to day, month to month, and year to year?
Day to day, a club treasurer deposits checks and cash promptly, records transactions as they happen (not from memory three weeks later), and keeps digital or physical copies of receipts. Cash from concession stands or gate sales should get counted by two people and logged before it ever reaches a bank, a basic control that prevents both theft and honest mistakes. Month to month, the treasurer reconciles the bank statement against the books, reports a simple summary to the board (income, expenses, balance, anything unusual), and flags upcoming bills before they're overdue. Good treasurers keep a running budget-vs-actual comparison so the board isn't surprised by a shortfall in March. Year to year, the treasurer closes out the fiscal year, prepares whatever version of Form 990 the organization's size requires (or hands clean records to whoever does), renews the state charitable registration if one applies, and (this is the step everyone forgets) documents the whole process for whoever takes over next. A shoebox of receipts and a login nobody wrote down is how organizations end up on the IRS auto-revocation list in the first place.
What does a treasurer of a club do that a president or secretary doesn't?
The president runs meetings and sets direction; the secretary keeps minutes and handles correspondence; the treasurer is the only officer with a legal and practical duty to know, at any moment, exactly how much money the organization has and where it went. That distinction matters more than it sounds. Many state nonprofit statutes and most bylaws put specific fiduciary expectations on the treasurer role by name, even for unincorporated volunteer clubs. That typically includes keeping accurate financial records, presenting regular reports, and safeguarding funds against loss or misuse. A secretary who loses the meeting minutes causes an inconvenience. A treasurer who loses track of the bank balance, or who is the sole person with online banking access and no backup, creates a real financial and legal exposure for the whole organization. The treasurer is also usually the point person for anything involving the IRS, whether that's the 990 filing itself, an EIN correction, or (worst case) an auto-revocation letter. If your group is building out a real handoff binder for whoever holds this role next, a [990](/articles/treasurer-basics/990) filing history and a copy of the group's IRS determination letter belong in it, along with bank statements, the check-signer list, and the current fiscal year's budget.
How do I know which 990 version my organization needs to file?
Look at two numbers from your most recently completed fiscal year: gross receipts and total assets. Gross receipts under $50,000 normally means 990-N. Gross receipts under $200,000 and total assets under $500,000 means 990-EZ is available (990-N is not, once you're over $50,000). Above both of those thresholds, the organization files the full Form 990 [5]. Private foundations file Form 990-PF regardless of size [5]. "Normally" is the IRS's actual word in its guidance for the 990-N threshold, and it matters: the agency averages gross receipts over multiple years for organizations whose income swings up and down, so one unusually large raffle or auction year doesn't automatically bump a small group into 990-EZ territory the very next year [4]. Still, if your fundraising has grown in a lasting way (a bigger annual gala, a new corporate sponsorship program), it's worth checking the math every year rather than assuming last year's form still fits. When in doubt, confirm with the IRS or a CPA familiar with exempt organizations before filing. Filing the wrong version isn't usually catastrophic, but it can create confusion in the IRS's records and delay processing.
What's the filing deadline and what happens if I file late?
Form 990, in any version, is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after the organization's fiscal year ends. For a calendar-year organization (fiscal year ending December 31), that's May 15 [2]. A single six-month extension is available using Form 8868, which pushes the deadline to November 15 for calendar-year filers . One late filing usually just means responding to an IRS notice. The organization can also self-report and catch up voluntarily; there's no shame in filing a year late once you realize a form was missed. What actually triggers automatic revocation is three consecutive years of missed filings, not one bad year [7]. Still, don't treat one late 990-N as harmless and forget the next two. Set a recurring calendar reminder well before May 15, and if your group has ever missed a year, put a second person on that reminder too.
Where can I check if my organization is at risk of, or already hit by, auto-revocation?
The IRS publishes two free tools worth bookmarking. Tax Exempt Organization Search lets you look up an organization's filing history, determination letter, and current exempt status by name or EIN [3]. The separate Automatic Revocation of Exemption List shows every organization the IRS has revoked for missing three consecutive years of required filings, updated regularly . If your group shows up on that revocation list, don't wait for a state charity office or a donor to notice first. Depending on how long it's been revoked, reinstatement might be a streamlined process (Form 1023-EZ plus delinquent returns, if within roughly 15 months of the revocation posting date, per IRS Rev. Proc. guidance) or a more involved full application with a reasonable-cause explanation . Either way, confirm current requirements with the IRS directly, since the exact reinstatement rules and fees have changed over time and this is not something to guess your way through. This is also the point where a lot of volunteer treasurers realize how thin their documentation is. A Form 990-N filing history, an EIN letter, and a list of who's had bank access are the bare minimum a new treasurer should be handed on day one, and building that packet before a crisis (not during one) is exactly the kind of thing a $99 one-time State-Personalized Treasurer Kit is built to organize: state-specific checklists, a filing calendar, and handoff templates so the next volunteer isn't starting from zero.
What should a new treasurer check first when taking over the books?
Start with three questions before touching a single spreadsheet: is the group's tax-exempt status currently active (check the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search), when was the last 990 filed and which version, and who currently has access to the bank account [3]. Those three answers tell you whether you're stepping into a clean handoff or a repair job. Next, get the EIN, the IRS determination letter (or confirmation of automatic exemption if the group never applied for one separately), the last three years of filed 990s, and the current bank statement. If any of those are missing, that's your to-do list, not a crisis, just a checklist. Request the login credentials, or better, get added as an authorized signer directly rather than sharing one login across officers. Finally, calendar the filing deadline for next year immediately, before anything else gets busy. May 15 for calendar-year filers comes faster than it feels like it will, especially in a volunteer role you're doing on top of a full-time job [2].
Frequently asked questions
What is Form 990?
Form 990 is the annual information return the IRS requires most tax-exempt organizations to file, reporting income, expenses, and governance details. It's how the IRS and the public track whether an exempt organization is still operating within its tax-exempt purpose. It comes in several versions (990-N, 990-EZ, full 990, 990-PF) sized by the organization's gross receipts and assets [2][5].
What is a 990 tax form used for?
It's used to report an exempt organization's finances and governance to the IRS every year, fulfilling the reporting requirement under Internal Revenue Code section 6033. It is not an income tax return demanding payment; it's an information return that keeps the organization's tax-exempt status in good standing [6].
Is there really a Form 990-W?
Yes, but it's not a nonprofit annual filing. Form 990-W is the IRS worksheet for calculating estimated tax on unrelated business taxable income for tax-exempt organizations, relevant only if a group has significant income from activities unrelated to its exempt purpose [1]. Most small booster clubs and PTOs never need it.
What does a treasurer do?
A treasurer tracks all the money coming in and going out, reconciles bank statements, reports financial status to the board regularly, and handles compliance tasks like filing Form 990 and renewing state charity registrations. The role is about keeping an accurate, honest, and current financial record that anyone could review.
What is a treasurer, in one sentence?
A treasurer is the officer of a club, PTO, or nonprofit responsible for managing, recording, and reporting on the organization's money, and for making sure it meets the IRS and state filing obligations tied to holding tax-exempt or charitable status.
What does a club treasurer do that's different from other officers?
Unlike the president or secretary, the treasurer carries a specific financial duty: keeping accurate books, safeguarding funds, and reporting balances at every meeting. Most bylaws and several state nonprofit statutes assign this fiduciary responsibility to the treasurer role by name, making it the one officer position with direct legal exposure over money.
Which 990 form should a small booster club file?
If gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less, file Form 990-N, the free e-Postcard, through IRS.gov [4]. If receipts exceed that but stay under $200,000 (and assets under $500,000), Form 990-EZ applies. Above those numbers, file the full Form 990 [5].
What happens if a nonprofit misses three years of 990 filings?
The IRS automatically revokes its tax-exempt status under Internal Revenue Code section 6033(j), with no individual warning required beyond the standard filing reminders [7]. The organization then appears on the IRS's public Automatic Revocation of Exemption List and typically owes corporate income tax until reinstated [8].
How do I check if my organization already lost its tax-exempt status?
Search the organization's name or EIN in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool, which shows current status and filing history, or check the separate Automatic Revocation of Exemption List directly on IRS.gov [3][8].
When is Form 990 due each year?
The 15th day of the 5th month after the organization's fiscal year ends; for calendar-year filers that's May 15 [2]. A six-month extension is available via Form 8868, moving the deadline to November 15 for calendar-year organizations [10].
Can a nonprofit get its tax-exempt status back after auto-revocation?
Often yes, through IRS reinstatement procedures that may include filing Form 1023 or 1023-EZ plus any delinquent 990s. A streamlined retroactive option exists within roughly 15 months of the revocation posting date under IRS guidance; after that window, the process is more involved [9]. Confirm current requirements with the IRS directly.
Does filing Form 990 cost money?
Form 990-N (the e-Postcard) is free to file through IRS.gov [4]. Form 990-EZ and the full Form 990 have no IRS filing fee either, though many groups pay a bookkeeper or CPA for preparation time, and separate state charity registration renewals sometimes carry their own fees, which you should confirm with your state charity office.
What records should a treasurer hand off to the next treasurer?
At minimum: the EIN and IRS determination letter, the last three years of filed 990s, current bank statements, the list of authorized check signers, the current budget, and any state charity registration or raffle license paperwork. Missing pieces should become the new treasurer's first checklist item, not a permanent gap.
Sources
- IRS, Annual Exempt Organization Return: Due Date: Form 990 is due the 15th day of the 5th month after the fiscal year ends (May 15 for calendar-year filers)
- IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search: Tool for checking an organization's exempt status and filing history
- IRS, Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations, Form 990-N (e-Postcard): 990-N applies to organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less and must be filed electronically
- IRS, Which Forms Do Exempt Organizations File: Thresholds distinguishing 990-N, 990-EZ, full 990, and 990-PF filers
- IRS, Instructions for Form 990: Form 990 fulfills the reporting requirement under Internal Revenue Code section 6033
- Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. §6033(j): Automatic revocation of tax-exempt status after three consecutive years of failing to file required returns
- IRS, About Form 8868: Form 8868 provides an automatic six-month extension for filing Form 990