Irs.gov 990-N filing: the e-Postcard, explained simply

Last updated 2026-07-25

What is Form 990-N (the e-Postcard) on irs.gov?

Form 990-N is the shortest version of the annual filing that tax-exempt organizations owe the IRS. The IRS calls it the "e-Postcard," and that nickname is accurate: it's eight questions, filed entirely online, with no attachments and no financial statements. There's no paper version. You can only file it through the IRS's own portal. It exists for small nonprofits, the booster club running concessions, the PTO collecting box tops money, the youth soccer league with one checking account. If your organization's gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less, the IRS lets you skip the longer Form 990 or 990-EZ and file this instead ^[1]. The form asks for your organization's legal name, EIN, tax year, mailing address, any other names you use, the name and address of a principal officer, your website if you have one, and confirmation that gross receipts are $50,000 or under. Then a checkbox confirming the organization hasn't terminated. That's the whole thing. Most treasurers finish it in under 15 minutes once they have their EIN and prior year info handy. If your organization used to file 990-N and has grown past the $50,000 threshold, you no longer qualify. You'd move up to Form 990-EZ or the full Form 990, depending on revenue and asset size.

Who has to file 990-N, and who's exempt from it?

$50,000 or less	Form 990-N (e-Postcard)
Less than $200,000 AND total assets less than $500,000	Form 990-EZ or full 990 (990-N not allowed)
$200,000 or more, or assets $500,000 or more	Form 990
Private foundation (any size)	Form 990-PF	Source: IRS annual filing requirements for tax-exempt organizations [2]. If you're brand new and unsure which bucket you're in, look at your bank statements for the last three fiscal years and average total revenue, more than fundraiser proceeds minus expenses. Gross receipts means gross, before you subtract costs of goods sold or event expenses.

Any organization recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c) with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less generally must file 990-N annually, unless it's covered by a filing exception ^[2]. "Normally" is an IRS term of art: it means average gross receipts over the current year and the two years before it, more than this year's number. A single big fundraiser year doesn't automatically bump you out of eligibility. A few organization types don't have to file any annual return at all: churches and their integrated auxiliaries, and organizations included in a group return, among others listed in the IRS's annual filing requirements guidance ^[2]. Private foundations file Form 990-PF regardless of size, not 990-N. Here's the size breakdown treasurers actually need: | Gross receipts (normal, 3-year average) | Which form to file |

How do you actually file 990-N on irs.gov?

The e-Postcard is filed through the IRS's electronic filing system, not through irs.gov's general search. Go to the IRS page for "Annual electronic filing requirement for small exempt organizations - Form 990-N (e-Postcard)" and follow the link to the filing system ^[1]. As of the most recent IRS guidance, you'll need to register for an IRS account (Login.gov or ID.me credential) to access the filing tool; the IRS retired the old separate 990-N registration system in 2023 ^[1]. Step by step, plan on this: 1. Create or sign in to your IRS online account. 2. Have your organization's EIN ready. If you don't know it, look at a prior year's bank paperwork or your IRS determination letter. 3. Confirm your tax year (calendar year or fiscal year, whatever your bylaws specify). 4. Answer the eight questions: legal name, EIN, tax year, mailing address, any other names, principal officer name and address, website (or "none"), and the gross receipts confirmation. 5. Submit. You'll get an on-screen confirmation, and the IRS will note the filing was either accepted or rejected. Rejections are usually simple, like a mismatched EIN or wrong tax year, and you can refile immediately at no cost. There's no fee to file 990-N. If any website is charging you money to "file" your e-Postcard, you're on a third-party site, not irs.gov, and you don't need it.

What is Form 990, and how is it different from 990-N?

Form 990 is the IRS's annual information return for tax-exempt organizations, the long version. It's a public disclosure document, more than a tax form; it reports revenue, expenses, assets, liabilities, compensation of officers, and program activities in detail ^[3]. Anyone can look up a nonprofit's Form 990 through the IRS's Tax Exempt Organization Search tool or through sites like ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer. 990-N is a stripped-down cousin built only for organizations under the $50,000 threshold. It reports almost nothing: no revenue breakdown, no expense detail, no board list. That's the tradeoff for being small: less transparency required, but also zero room to explain anything if the IRS ever asks a question, because there's nothing on the form to reference. If your booster club or PTO is growing, hires a part time coordinator, buys uniforms and travel packages, or takes in gate receipts across a full athletic season, you may cross the $50,000 line faster than you'd think. Check your three-year average every year before you assume 990-N still applies. For background on the full form and when organizations step up to it, see what Form 990 is and who has to file it and the broader breakdown of what the 990 tax form covers.

When is Form 990-N due?

Form 990-N is due every year by the 15th day of the 5th month after your organization's accounting period ends ^[1]. For a calendar-year organization (tax year ending December 31), that's May 15 of the following year. For a fiscal year ending June 30, it's November 15. There's no extension available for 990-N, unlike the longer 990 forms. If you miss the deadline, you simply file late; the IRS doesn't charge a late fee for 990-N specifically, but missing it repeatedly has a much bigger consequence, described below. A practical habit: put the due date on your board calendar the same day you approve the prior year's budget, and assign it to whoever holds the treasurer role, not to a specific person's name. Boards change; the deadline doesn't.

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

This is the one every incoming treasurer needs to know cold. If a tax-exempt organization fails to file any required annual return (990, 990-EZ, or 990-N) for three consecutive years, its tax-exempt status is automatically revoked by operation of law, as of the filing due date of the third year ^[4]. This is written directly into the tax code: section 6033(j) of the Internal Revenue Code mandates automatic revocation for three consecutive years of non-filing ^[4]. There's no warning letter that says "file now or lose your status." The revocation happens automatically, and the IRS publishes the organization's name on its Auto-Revocation List. You can search that list, along with the Tax Exempt Organization Search tool, at irs.gov ^[5]. Once revoked, the organization is treated as a taxable entity going forward, and donations made to it are no longer tax-deductible to donors, until reinstatement is granted. For most small nonprofits, the fix is Streamlined Retroactive Reinstatement: filing Form 1023 or 1023-EZ within 15 months of the revocation date, along with a completed 990-N or 990-EZ for the most recent tax year, and paying the applicable user fee . As of recent IRS fee schedules, the Form 1023-EZ user fee is $275 ; confirm the current amount on irs.gov before you file, since IRS fees change. We cover the full recovery process in detail elsewhere on this site; the short version is: don't panic, gather your last few years of bank statements, and expect the process to take a few months, not a few days.

How do you check if your nonprofit's status was already revoked?

Search your organization's name or EIN in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS) tool at irs.gov. It shows current exempt status, filed 990s (including 990-N submissions), and whether your organization appears on the Auto-Revocation List ^[5]. Do this check the day you take over as treasurer, before you do anything else. It's the single fastest way to find out if the previous treasurer let filings lapse. It happens more than people expect, especially in volunteer-run booster clubs and PTOs where the treasurer role turns over every year or two and nobody hands off login credentials or a filing calendar. If you find your organization on the revocation list, don't wait. The Streamlined Retroactive Reinstatement window is time-sensitive (15 months from the revocation posting date for the streamlined process; after that window, reinstatement gets more complicated and may require a full Form 1023 with reasonable cause statement) .

What does a treasurer do?

A treasurer is the person responsible for an organization's money: tracking what comes in, what goes out, keeping records straight, and making sure required filings (like 990-N) actually get done. In a booster club, PTO, or youth sports league, the treasurer is usually a volunteer parent, not an accountant, elected or appointed for a season or school year. What a treasurer does in practice, month to month: - Keeps the checkbook or bank account reconciled against every deposit and withdrawal.

• Tracks fundraiser income against expenses, so the board knows if a car wash actually made money after supplies.
• Reports to the board at every meeting: cash on hand, upcoming bills, any concerns.
• Files required paperwork: 990-N or the appropriate 990 variant, state charitable solicitation registration renewals, raffle license reports if the group runs raffles.
• Maintains a paper (or digital) trail so the next treasurer, and any outside auditor, can follow the money without guessing. What a treasurer does not do: sign every check alone with no second signer, keep the only copy of records on a personal laptop, or treat the club's bank account like a personal one. Good boards require two signers on any check over a set threshold and a second set of eyes on bank statements. See our broader guide on what a treasurer does day to day for the full job description beyond filings.

What does a club treasurer do differently from a company treasurer?

A club treasurer (booster club, PTO, youth league) usually handles a much smaller, simpler set of duties than a corporate treasurer, but with less institutional support. There's no finance department, no accounting software license already paid for, no professional bookkeeper on staff. It's one volunteer, a shared drive, and a bank account. What a club treasurer of a booster group or PTO actually does: collects and deposits fundraiser cash (concessions, raffle tickets, spirit wear sales), reimburses coaches or parent volunteers for approved purchases, tracks a simple budget against the season's plan, reports balances at monthly meetings, and files the annual 990-N (or larger 990 form if the group has grown) plus any state charity registration renewal. The stakes are still real, even at small scale. A club that loses its 501(c)(3) status because nobody filed 990-N for three years can't offer donors a tax deduction, and some school districts or leagues require proof of active tax-exempt status before they'll let a booster club fundraise on campus at all. Treat the paperwork with the same seriousness as the cash box, even though the dollar amounts are smaller than what a company treasurer manages.

What is a 990 tax form, in plain terms?

"990 tax form" is the informal name people use for the whole family of annual information returns tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS: Form 990, Form 990-EZ, Form 990-N, and Form 990-PF for private foundations. None of them calculate income tax owed, because most tax-exempt organizations don't owe income tax on their exempt-purpose activities. Instead, these forms tell the IRS (and the public) what the organization took in, spent, owns, and owes. The IRS's own description: the form and its schedules are used "to report the information required by section 6033" ^[3], the statute that requires exempt organizations to file annual returns in the first place. Which version you file depends entirely on gross receipts and total assets, per the thresholds in the table above. For a booster club treasurer hearing "990" for the first time, the practical translation is: it's an annual report card you send the IRS, and depending on your size, it's either eight quick questions online (990-N) or a much longer document with financial statements and program descriptions (990 or 990-EZ). See irs form 990 basics for more on the longer version.

What records do you need before you sit down to file 990-N?

You need less than you'd think, but you need the right things. Before filing, have on hand: - Your organization's EIN (Employer Identification Number). Never your personal Social Security number.

• The exact legal name on file with the IRS, plus any "doing business as" name your group uses locally.
• Your accounting period (calendar year or fiscal year) and confirmation of when it starts and ends.
• Your mailing address, updated if the treasurer or club address changed since last year.
• The current principal officer's name and address (often the board president, not necessarily the treasurer).
• Your organization's website URL, if you have one, or confirmation that you don't.
• A rough total of gross receipts for the current and prior two years, to confirm you're still under $50,000 average. You do not need bank statements, receipts, or a budget spreadsheet to file 990-N itself, because the form doesn't ask for financial detail. But you should keep those records anyway, in a shared file the next treasurer can access, because state charity registration renewals and any future audit will ask for exactly that detail. This is where a lot of small nonprofits stumble: the federal filing is easy, but the state-level obligations (charitable solicitation registration, raffle permits) often require the fuller financial picture that 990-N skips.

Where 990-N fits with state filing requirements

Filing 990-N with the IRS satisfies your federal obligation. It does not automatically satisfy any state requirement. Most states with charitable solicitation laws require separate annual registration or renewal, sometimes with a copy of your 990 or 990-N attached, sometimes with additional financial detail the federal e-Postcard never asked for. Requirements vary by state and change over time, so confirm current rules with your state charity office or attorney general's charities division before assuming federal filing is enough. Many states publish specific guidance for small nonprofits and PTOs; check your state's charity registration or attorney general nonprofit division page directly, since fee schedules, thresholds, and exemption categories differ from state to state and from what the IRS requires. If your booster club runs a raffle, most states layer an additional state-level raffle or gaming license requirement on top of both your federal and state charity filings, with its own separate application, fee, and reporting deadline. Confirm with your state's gaming or charitable gaming office before your first raffle, not after.

A quick word on where to get help without overpaying for it

Filing 990-N yourself costs nothing but time, and the IRS's own instructions are enough to get most volunteer treasurers through it. Where people get stuck is usually the surrounding structure: knowing which form applies as the club grows, keeping a filing calendar so nobody misses three years in a row, and organizing records so state renewals aren't a scramble every spring. That's the gap our State-Personalized Treasurer Kit is built for: a one-time $99 packet that maps out your specific state's charity registration and raffle licensing steps alongside the federal 990-N calendar, so a new treasurer isn't reconstructing all of this from scratch every time the role changes hands. It's not tax or legal advice, and it doesn't file anything for you or guarantee any outcome with the IRS or your state; it's a reference built for volunteers doing this job for the first time. Whatever tool or template you use, the core habit matters more than the product: check your exempt status on irs.gov once a year, file 990-N (or the appropriate larger form) on time, and hand the next treasurer a folder, not a mystery.

Frequently asked questions

What does a treasurer do?

A treasurer tracks an organization's money: deposits, expenses, bank reconciliation, and reporting to the board. In a nonprofit, the treasurer also handles or oversees required IRS filings like Form 990-N and any state charity registration renewals. It's a stewardship role, more than bookkeeping; the treasurer is accountable for the group's financial trail.

What is Form 990?

Form 990 is the IRS's annual information return for tax-exempt organizations, reporting revenue, expenses, assets, and program activities in detail. It's required for organizations with gross receipts of $200,000 or more, or total assets of $500,000 or more; smaller organizations file 990-EZ or 990-N instead, depending on size ^[4].

What is a 990-N and who has to file it?

Form 990-N, the e-Postcard, is a free 8-question online filing for tax-exempt organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less. It's filed only through the IRS's electronic system, has no paper option, and is due annually by the 15th day of the 5th month after your tax year ends ^[1].

What is a 990 tax form in simple terms?

It's the informal name for the family of annual reports (990, 990-EZ, 990-N, 990-PF) that tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS instead of an income tax return. It reports money in, money out, and organizational activity, so the IRS and public can see how the nonprofit operates.

What does a club treasurer do?

A booster club or PTO treasurer manages the group's bank account, tracks fundraiser income and expenses, reports to the board monthly, and files the annual IRS return (usually 990-N) plus any required state charity or raffle paperwork. Unlike a corporate treasurer, they usually do it alone as a volunteer with no finance staff support.

How long does it take to file Form 990-N?

Most treasurers finish it in 10 to 15 minutes once they have the EIN, principal officer info, and gross receipts confirmation ready. The form itself is only 8 questions with no financial statements or attachments required, filed directly through the IRS's online system ^[1].

Is there a fee to file 990-N?

No. Filing Form 990-N through irs.gov is free. If any website asks you to pay to submit your e-Postcard, you're not on the official IRS filing system; the only cost involved shows up later if your status lapsed and you need to pay a reinstatement user fee to refile Form 1023 or 1023-EZ ^[7].

What happens if a nonprofit doesn't file 990-N for three years?

Its tax-exempt status is automatically revoked by law, with no warning letter first. This is required under Internal Revenue Code section 6033(j) for three consecutive years of missed filings ^[5]. The IRS publishes the organization on its public Auto-Revocation List, searchable through the Tax Exempt Organization Search tool ^[6].

How do I check if my nonprofit lost its tax-exempt status?

Search your organization's name or EIN using the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool at irs.gov. It shows current status, past 990 filings, and whether you appear on the Auto-Revocation List. Do this the day you become treasurer, before assuming past filings were handled correctly ^[6].

Can a booster club file 990-N if it made more than $50,000 one year?

It depends on the three-year average, not one year alone. The IRS defines the threshold as gross receipts "normally" $50,000 or less, averaged across the current year and the two years before it. A single bigger fundraiser year doesn't automatically disqualify you; run the average before assuming you've outgrown 990-N ^[1].

Does filing 990-N with the IRS also satisfy state requirements?

No. Federal 990-N filing only covers your IRS obligation. Most states with charitable solicitation laws require separate registration or renewal, and raffle fundraising usually needs its own state gaming license on top of that. Confirm current rules with your state charity office or attorney general's charities division.

What is a principal officer for 990-N purposes?

It's the person the IRS considers primarily responsible for the organization's operations or finances, commonly the board president in a booster club or PTO, though it can be another officer depending on your bylaws. The e-Postcard asks for this person's name and address as one of its eight required fields ^[1].

Sources

1. IRS, Annual electronic filing requirement for small exempt organizations - Form 990-N (e-Postcard): 990-N eligibility threshold, due date formula, and required 8 data fields
2. IRS, Annual filing and forms: which organizations must file, size-based form thresholds, and filing exceptions
3. IRS, About Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax: what Form 990 reports and its statutory basis under section 6033
4. 26 U.S.C. § 6033(j), Internal Revenue Code, Cornell Legal Information Institute: automatic revocation of tax-exempt status after three consecutive years of non-filing
5. IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search: tool to check exempt status, filed 990s, and Auto-Revocation List