New Filing Requirements for Tax-Exempt Organizations   
School Advisor, 2008 Issue No. 1

While it does not directly impact school districts, we thought we’d alert you to a new IRS filing requirement for 501(c)(3) organizations (i.e., PTAs, PTOs, booster clubs, etc.). For these organizations the existing threshold requirement for filing a Form 990 is $25,000 of annual gross receipts. Small
tax-exempt organizations with annual gross receipts less than $25,000 have previously had no filing requirement. Beginning in 2008, these small tax-exempt organizations under $25,000 will be required to file an “e-Postcard.” As the name implies, this will be strictly an electronic filing.

This new “e-Postcard” will require a few basic facts, such as the organization’s name, address, federal I.D. number and tax period. This annual electronic notice will need to be filed by the 15th day of the fifth month after the close of the organization’s tax period.

Failure to file the “e-Postcard” for three consecutive years will result in the revocation of the organization’s tax-exempt status. Of course, for an organization that has never properly requested
tax-exempt status, the penalty for failure to file the “e-Postcard” will not apply. The issue of lack of official status for an organization in this situation is an entirely different matter beyond the scope of this article.

More information on this new requirement can be obtained at www.irs.gov/eo.

Since we are on the subject, we would like to also mention an excellent article published in the January 22, 2007 MASB Headlines, titled “The Legal Angle on Booster Clubs and Parent Groups.” This article does a great job of outlining the difficult issue of just what is a district’s responsibility for these other organizations.