990-N vs 990-EZ: Which One Does Your PTA or Booster Club File?
Reviewed · First published · 6 min read
Every spring or fall, a new PTA, PTO or booster club treasurer opens the books and asks the same question: do we file the short Form 990-N e-Postcard, or Form 990-EZ? The answer depends on a few numbers you already have in your bank statements. Here's how to work it out, one step at a time.
If you want the general rules for every kind of nonprofit, see the difference between Form 990-N and Form 990-EZ. This post applies them to parent groups and booster clubs.
The short answer
- Form 990-N (e-Postcard): your gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less. It has eight items and no financial statements.
- Form 990-EZ: your gross receipts are normally more than $50,000, but under $200,000 for the year, and your total assets are under $500,000 at year end.
- Form 990: above either 990-EZ limit.
Most of the work is in the word "normally". Before that, two questions decide whether your group files at all.
Step 1: Is your group its own organization?
A booster club or PTO with its own EIN and bank account is usually its own organization. It needs its own tax exemption and files its own annual return. The school district's status does not cover it.
Some parent groups aren't separate organizations at all: the money sits in a school activity account and the district accounts for it. A group like that has no IRS return of its own. If you aren't sure, look at whose EIN is on the bank account and ask the district.
Step 2: Does a group return cover you?
Many PTA units are covered by a group exemption held by their state PTA, and some booster clubs and leagues belong to programs that hold one too. A group exemption gives you tax-exempt status. It does not file your return. IRS Publication 4573 is direct about it: "A group exemption letter does not change the filing requirements for exempt organizations."
The exception is a group return, a single Form 990 that the central organization files for some or all of its subordinates. The IRS says a subordinate included in a group return does not file Form 990-N, because the group return covers it. A subordinate that isn't included files its own. If you're not sure, ask your state PTA or national office whether it files a group return that includes your unit.
Step 3: Add up your gross receipts
The IRS defines gross receipts as the total amounts received from all sources during the year, without subtracting any costs or expenses. That is a bigger number than most treasurers expect. For a parent group it includes:
- Dues, donations and grants
- Everything taken in at fundraisers: the carnival, the book fair, the auction, the spirit wear sale
- Concession stand sales, before paying for the food
- Program ads, banners and sponsorships
- Trip, camp and uniform money collected from families, even if you pay it straight on to a vendor
So if the fall carnival takes in $12,000 and costs $4,000 to run, $12,000 goes into gross receipts, not $8,000. Booster clubs that pass travel money through their account can reach $50,000 without much ever sitting in the bank.
Step 4: Apply the "normally $50,000" test
"Normally" is an average, and the rule depends on your group's age. According to the IRS, gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less if the organization:
- has existed 1 year or less and received, or was pledged, $75,000 or less in its first tax year;
- has existed between 1 and 3 years and averaged $60,000 or less in each of its first two tax years; or
- is at least 3 years old and averaged $50,000 or less over the immediately preceding 3 tax years, including the year you are filing for.
Example 1, a PTA (figures invented for illustration). A long-running PTA took in $38,000, then $47,000, then $61,000 in a big carnival year. The three-year average is $48,667. It can still file the 990-N for the $61,000 year.
Example 2, a band boosters club (figures invented). A club's gross receipts were $52,000, $58,000 and $66,000 as competition travel grew. The average is $58,667, so it is past the e-Postcard limit. This year's receipts are under $200,000 and it holds about $40,000 at year end, so it files Form 990-EZ.
Keep a three-year table of gross receipts in your treasurer's binder. Then the check takes a few minutes each year.
Step 5: Check total assets
The 990-EZ also has an asset limit: total assets must be under $500,000 at the end of the year. Assets include cash, investments and equipment. Few parent groups get close, but a booster club holding a large reserve, a scoreboard fund or property should check before choosing the 990-EZ.
What changes if you file the 990-EZ
Form 990-EZ is a real financial return, not a postcard. According to the 2025 instructions, it asks for:
- revenue by type, including each fundraising event's gross receipts and direct expenses;
- expenses, and a balance sheet for the start and end of the year;
- what your programs accomplished;
- your officers and directors, with hours and any pay.
A 501(c)(3) organization also completes Schedule A, which shows its public support. Schedule B lists contributors if anyone gave $5,000 or more (some 501(c)(3)s use a higher threshold). If fundraising events bring in more than $15,000 in gross income and contributions, the instructions call for Schedule G, Part II. The 990-EZ must be filed electronically, and e-file covers the current tax year and the two before it.
You may file a complete Form 990-EZ even if you qualify for the 990-N.
Same due date, different extensions and penalties
Both returns are due on the 15th day of the 5th month after your tax year ends: November 15 for a July–June school year, May 15 for a calendar year. If that date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, file by the next business day.
- Extension: none for the 990-N. A 990-EZ gets an automatic 6 months with Form 8868, filed by the original due date.
- Late filing: the IRS charges no penalty for a late 990-N, though it may send a reminder. A late 990-EZ can cost $25 a day, up to the lesser of $13,000 or 5% of gross receipts, unless you show reasonable cause (2025 instructions).
Missing three years in a row of either return revokes your exemption automatically, effective on the due date of the third return. If that has already happened, see how to get it back after missing three e-Postcards.
California groups: Form 199N or Form 199
California has its own annual filing with the Franchise Tax Board, on the same $50,000 line. Groups with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less file the free FTB 199N e-Postcard on ftb.ca.gov. Groups above $50,000 file Form 199. A group that may file the 199N can choose to file a complete Form 199 instead. See Form 199N vs Form 199.
File with 990.tax
990.tax is an IRS-authorized e-file provider built for volunteer treasurers. It files:
- Form 990-N for groups normally at $50,000 or less;
- Form 990-EZ, including Schedules A and O, for larger groups;
- the Form 8868 extension for a 990-EZ;
- California Form 199, added to either federal return.
You answer plain-language questions, an officer signs online, and you pay one price per filing with no subscription (pricing). As of October 2026, 990.tax files tax years 2023 and 2024. If your return needs a schedule not listed above, email [email protected] before you start.
This post is general information, not legal or tax advice.
Sources
- IRS: Annual electronic filing requirement for small exempt organizations (Form 990-N)
- IRS: Form 990 series - which forms do exempt organizations file
- IRS: Instructions for Form 990-EZ (2025)
- IRS Publication 4573, Group Exemptions
- IRS: Returns by members of a group ruling
- IRS: Form 990-N FAQs - When to file
- FTB: Annual and filing requirements for charities and nonprofits
