Last updated 2026-08-14
TL;DR
Go to the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS) tool at apps.irs.gov and search by your organization's name or EIN. The "Form 990-N (e-Postcard)" tab shows every year you've filed. If your org isn't listed or shows as revoked, you have a filing gap or already lost tax-exempt status and need to act.
How can I verify my 990-N filing status?
The fastest way is the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool, usually just called TEOS. It sits at apps.irs.gov/app/eos and it's free, no login required [1]. Search by your organization's legal name, its EIN, or its city and state, then click into your listing. Once you're in, look for the "Form 990-N (e-Postcard)" tab. That tab lists every year your organization successfully filed a 990-N, going back to when the e-Postcard system started (2010 filing year data is the earliest generally available) [1]. If a year is missing, either you filed a different form that year (990 or 990-EZ), or nobody filed anything, or the filing hasn't shown up in the system yet. Processing isn't instant. The IRS updates the TEOS database periodically, and a 990-N you just submitted might not appear for a few weeks. Don't panic if you filed last Tuesday and it's not showing Friday. Do panic, mildly, if it's been two months and nothing shows up. That usually means the filing didn't go through, often because of a typo in the EIN or a rejected submission you didn't notice. Separate from TEOS, you can also check your exempt status directly through the same tool's "Exempt Organizations" search, which tells you whether the IRS currently lists your group as tax-exempt, revoked, or not found at all [1].
What is Form 990-N and who has to file it?
Form 990-N, the e-Postcard, is the shortest of the [990](/articles/treasurer-basics/990) family of returns. It's an 8-question online form for small tax-exempt organizations, and it's the one most volunteer-run boosters, PTOs, and youth sports groups end up filing. You can use the 990-N instead of the longer 990-tax-form or 990-EZ only if your organization's gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less [2]. "Normally" is an IRS term of art: it means averaged over the current year and the two years before it, not a hard cutoff on any single year. If your booster club had a $52,000 year because of one big tournament, you might still qualify for 990-N if your three-year average stays at or under $50,000. There's no paper version. It's filed entirely online through the IRS system, and as of 2016 the IRS moved 990-N filing to the Form 990-N Electronic Filing System accessible via IRS.gov (it previously ran through a third-party site called Urban Institute) [3]. You'll need your EIN, tax year, legal name and mailing address, any other names the org uses, the name and address of a principal officer, and a statement confirming your gross receipts are $50,000 or less [3]. There's no fee to file the 990-N itself, which is one of the very few free things in the compliance world for small nonprofits.
What is Form 990, and how is it different from the 990-N?
| 990-N (e-Postcard) | Smallest orgs | Gross receipts normally $50,000 or less [2] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 990-EZ | Mid-size orgs | Gross receipts under $200,000 and total assets under $500,000 [2] | |
| 990 (full) | Larger orgs | Gross receipts $200,000 or more, or assets $500,000 or more [2] | |
| 990-PF | Private foundations | All private foundations, regardless of size [2] | Most booster clubs and PTOs live in the 990-N or 990-EZ lane. If your treasury has grown past $50,000 in average receipts, you don't get to keep filing the e-Postcard just because it's easier. You're required to step up to the 990-EZ or full 990, and those forms ask for a lot more: revenue and expense detail, balance sheets, and sometimes program service descriptions. If you're not sure which one applies to you this year, that's a legitimate question for a CPA who works with nonprofits, not a guess. |
Form 990 is the general name for the IRS's annual information return for tax-exempt organizations, but there are actually four versions depending on size, and people often use "irs-form-990" loosely to mean any of them. | Form | Who files it | Rough threshold |
Why does my organization show as revoked in the search results?
If TEOS lists your group with a status of "Automatically Revoked," it means the IRS has already terminated your federal tax-exempt status because you failed to file a required 990-series return (990, 990-EZ, 990-N, or 990-PF) for three consecutive years [4]. This isn't a warning stage. Automatic revocation under Internal Revenue Code Section 6033(j) happens by operation of law the day after the third missed filing deadline, and the IRS doesn't send a notice before it happens [4]. The first most treasurers learn about it is stumbling onto their org's name in the IRS's separate "Automatically Revoked" list, or getting a letter (CP120A is common) confirming it after the fact. Once revoked, your organization is treated as a taxable entity going forward and donations to it are no longer tax-deductible to donors, starting from the revocation date [4]. For a small booster club running on parent donations and concession stand cash, that's a real problem, both for fundraising credibility and if you ever apply for a school district partnership or a grant that requires proof of 501(c)(3) status. Getting reinstated means filing IRS Form 1024 or 1024-A (depending on your original exemption category) along with any past-due 990-series returns, and in many cases paying the user fee for reinstatement [4]. Streamlined retroactive reinstatement is available for organizations that have never been revoked before and normally would have filed a 990-N or 990-EZ, if you apply within 15 months of the revocation date or the date on the CP120A notice, whichever is later [4].
What does a treasurer do?
A treasurer is the person legally and practically responsible for an organization's money: tracking it, reporting on it, and keeping the paper trail clean enough that anyone auditing the books later can follow it. In a volunteer booster club or PTO, that usually means one person wearing several hats at once, often without much handoff training from the last treasurer. Day to day, what does a treasurer do? Reconcile the bank account monthly. Keep receipts and deposit slips. Track dues, fundraiser income, and concession cash. Pay vendors and reimburse parents. File the annual tax return (usually the 990-N for small groups). Report a budget summary to the board or membership at meetings. What do treasurers do that people forget until it bites them? Maintaining the organization's EIN paperwork, renewing any state charitable solicitation registration, keeping insurance and bank signer lists current, and making sure nobody's still authorized on the account two years after they left the board. None of that is glamorous. All of it is the difference between a smooth handoff and a mess the next person inherits.
What does a treasurer do in a club or booster organization specifically?
What does a club treasurer do differently from a corporate finance role? Scale, mostly, and informality. A booster club treasurer might handle $8,000 a year from a candy sale and a spirit wear table. A large athletic booster club might handle $150,000 across concessions, sponsorships, and a golf tournament. Either way, what does a treasurer of a club do boils down to the same core tasks, just with more or less paperwork attached. Specific to boosters and PTOs, the treasurer usually also handles cash from in-person events, which is the riskiest part of the job from a controls standpoint. Two people should count concession or gate cash together, and that count should get documented and signed before the money goes anywhere near a single wallet or a car console overnight. The treasurer is also usually the one who knows (or should know) whether the group has ever filed a 990-N, whether it's actually got its own EIN or is quietly using the school district's, and whether it has any state-level charitable registration on file. Those are the three things a new treasurer should check within the first month on the job, before touching a single bake sale spreadsheet.
What information do I need before I search the IRS site?
Have your organization's exact legal name as it was registered with the IRS, and your EIN if you have it. EIN searches are more reliable than name searches, because booster clubs frequently have near-identical names to similar groups in other states or even other schools in the same district. If you don't know the EIN, check old bank statements, a previous year's 990-N confirmation email, or the state's charity registration filing if your state requires one. Some state Attorney General or Secretary of State charity databases list the EIN alongside the org's registration [5]. If you genuinely can't locate it anywhere, you can call the IRS Tax Exempt and Government Entities customer account services line, which as of recent years is 877-829-5500 [6]. Don't assume your organization's IRS-recognized name matches what's on your banner or team jerseys. "Lincoln High Boosters" and "Lincoln High School Athletic Booster Club, Inc." are treated as different strings by the search tool, so try partial names and wildcards if the exact match comes up empty.
What if my organization isn't listed in the IRS search at all?
A blank search result usually means one of three things. First, your group might never have applied for tax-exempt status in the first place; plenty of small booster clubs operate for years as informal groups under a parent's Social Security number or a shared checking account, without ever filing Form 1023 or 1023-EZ to become a recognized 501(c)(3). Second, your organization might be a subordinate under another group's group exemption, in which case it won't show up separately in TEOS at all; you'd need to check with the parent organization (sometimes a state PTA or a national booster association) [1]. Third, the IRS's database simply hasn't caught up yet if you filed very recently. If your group has been collecting donations and calling itself tax-exempt without ever having filed anything, that's worth sorting out soon. It's not automatically a disaster (plenty of youth groups operate as informal associations), but it does mean donors technically can't deduct their gifts, and it means you should talk to a tax professional about whether applying for exemption now makes sense given your size and goals.
How do I fix a missing filing or get reinstated after revocation?
If you've got a filing gap but haven't hit the three-year revocation trigger yet, just file the missing 990-N (or 990-EZ, if your receipts have grown) for the years you missed, then file current going forward. There's no penalty specifically for a late 990-N itself, though a pattern of lateness is exactly what leads to automatic revocation [4]. If you're already revoked, the path is Form 1024 or 1024-A plus back returns. Many small organizations qualify for the streamlined retroactive reinstatement process described in Revenue Procedure 2014-11, which lets orgs that normally file 990-N or 990-EZ get retroactive reinstatement (meaning the gap in exempt status is treated as if it never happened) if they apply within 15 months of the revocation date [4]. Miss that 15-month window and reinstatement is still possible, it's just not automatically retroactive, and the gap period may be treated as a taxable period. This is genuinely a spot to loop in a nonprofit-experienced CPA or attorney, especially if your organization has real assets or has been operating for years unaware it was revoked. It's not a DIY move if there's real money at stake.
Where do state charity registrations fit into this?
Your IRS 990-N status and your state charitable solicitation registration are two completely separate systems, and treasurers regularly forget one exists while managing the other. Most states that require charitable registration also require an annual renewal, and many tie renewal to submission of your federal 990 or 990-N confirmation. There's no single national database for state charity registration status the way TEOS works for federal exemption. You'll need to check with your specific state's charity regulator, which is usually housed in the Attorney General's office or the Secretary of State (confirm with your state charity office which agency handles it, since this varies). The National Association of State Charity Officials publishes a state-by-state list of charity regulators that's a reasonable starting point for finding the right office [5]. Some states publish searchable registries; others require a phone call or email. Don't assume a clean IRS record means you're square with your state too. A booster club can be perfectly current on its 990-N and still be delinquent, or unregistered entirely, with its state charity office.
How often should a treasurer check filing status?
Once a year, right after you file, is the minimum. Check TEOS a few weeks after submitting your 990-N to confirm it landed and shows up correctly under the right tax year. At handoff between treasurers, checking is non-negotiable. Every incoming treasurer should pull up the organization in TEOS on day one, confirm the EIN matches what's on the bank account, confirm the exempt status is active (not revoked), and look at the filing history to see whether there are any gaps from prior years nobody caught. This single 10-minute check catches more silent problems than almost anything else a new treasurer can do. If your group uses a form-990-n filing calendar reminder, tie the status check to the same date each year, right after filing, so it becomes a habit instead of a fire drill three years later when someone notices donations stopped being deductible.
A quick word on the paperwork side of all this
None of this is legal or tax advice, and specifics (thresholds, fees, form numbers) do shift over time, so always confirm current details with the IRS and your state charity office before you rely on them for a filing decision. If you're taking over as treasurer mid-year and staring down a stack of unlabeled folders, a state-specific starting framework helps more than generic advice. BoosterLedger's $99 one-time treasurer-kit-builder builds out a state-personalized packet covering your 990-N filing calendar, EIN and bank documentation checklist, and your state's charity registration requirements, so you're not reconstructing all this from scratch during your first busy season.
Frequently asked questions
How can I verify my 990-N filing status for free?
Use the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS) tool at apps.irs.gov/app/eos, free with no account needed. Search by organization name or EIN, then check the 990-N tab for filing history and the exempt organizations tab for current status [1].
What is Form 990?
Form 990 is the IRS's annual information return for tax-exempt organizations. It has several versions (990-N, 990-EZ, full 990, 990-PF) depending on the organization's size, and it's how the IRS and public track a nonprofit's finances and activities each year [2].
What is a 990 tax form used for?
It reports a tax-exempt organization's revenue, expenses, and activities to the IRS each year. Unlike most tax returns, most 990-series forms are also public record, so donors, grantmakers, and watchdog groups can look them up to see how a nonprofit spends its money.
What is the 990-N specifically?
It's the e-Postcard, an 8-question online-only filing for tax-exempt organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less [2]. It's free to file and takes most treasurers under 15 minutes once they have the EIN and basic org info ready [3].
What does a treasurer do in a PTO or booster club?
Tracks all money in and out, reconciles the bank account, files the annual tax return (usually 990-N), keeps receipts and cash-handling records, and reports finances to the board. In small orgs the treasurer often also handles state charity registration renewals.
What does a treasurer of a club do that a president doesn't?
The president runs meetings and sets direction; the treasurer owns the money trail. That means bank reconciliation, tax filings, vendor payments, reimbursement approval, and financial reporting. The two roles overlap on budget decisions but the treasurer holds the paperwork and the legal filing responsibility.
How do I know if my nonprofit lost its tax-exempt status?
Search your organization in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool. If the status shows "Automatically Revoked," your exemption was terminated for missing three consecutive years of required 990-series filings under IRC Section 6033(j) [4].
Does the 990-N cost anything to file?
No. Filing the Form 990-N e-Postcard itself is free through the IRS's online system [3]. If your organization needs to reinstate revoked status later, that reinstatement application does carry a separate IRS user fee.
What EIN do I search if my booster club doesn't have its own?
If your group has been using a school district's or another organization's EIN, that's a structural problem worth fixing, more than a search inconvenience. Talk to a nonprofit-experienced advisor about whether your group needs its own EIN and its own 501(c)(3) application.
How long does it take for a 990-N to show up in the IRS search tool?
There's no official published turnaround, but treasurers commonly report a few weeks between filing and the record appearing in TEOS. If two months pass with nothing showing, check that the filing actually went through rather than assuming it's just slow.
Can I check another organization's 990-N status, more than my own?
Yes. TEOS is a public tool; anyone can search any organization's name or EIN to see its filing history and current exempt status [1]. This is commonly used by donors and grantmakers to confirm a nonprofit's standing before giving.
What's the difference between 990-N and 990-EZ eligibility?
990-N applies if gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less. 990-EZ applies for gross receipts under $200,000 and total assets under $500,000 [2]. Organizations eligible for 990-N can choose to file 990-EZ instead, but not the reverse.
Who has to file a Form 990-N at all?
Most tax-exempt organizations recognized under Section 501(c) with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less must file a 990-N annually unless they file a 990 or 990-EZ instead. Churches and certain church-affiliated organizations are generally exempt from this filing requirement [2].
Sources
- IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search: Free public search tool for checking 990-N filing history and exempt status by name or EIN
- IRS, Annual Exempt Organization Returns: Who Must File: Gross receipts thresholds distinguishing 990-N, 990-EZ, full 990, and 990-PF filers
- IRS, Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations Form 990-N (e-Postcard): 990-N is filed online only, is free, and requires EIN, tax year, legal name, address, and gross receipts confirmation
- IRS, Automatic Revocation of Exemption: Automatic revocation occurs after three consecutive years of missed 990-series filings, with no advance notice, and describes streamlined reinstatement within 15 months
- National Association of State Charity Officials (NASCO), State Government Charity Regulators: Directory of state charity regulator agencies for confirming registration status
- IRS, Instructions for Form 1023, Contact Information: Phone contact for IRS exempt organizations account questions, including locating an EIN