# Closing the Booster Club Fiscal Year: Year-End Checklist

> How to close a booster club's fiscal year: expense cutoff, final reconciliation, the annual financial report, carryover, and the federal filing deadlines.

- URL: https://boosterclub.org/finance/fiscal-year-close/
- Section: Finance
- Updated: 2026-10-08

Closing the fiscal year means stopping the year's activity at a fixed date, getting every dollar recorded and reconciled, producing an annual financial report, carrying the ending balance into the new year, and handing the books to the financial reviewers. The fiscal year is the club's 12-month accounting period, set in the bylaws; most school-based clubs use July 1 to June 30. The treasurer runs the close, and the president makes sure it happens before officers change.

A clean close is what makes everything after it possible: the financial review, the federal annual return, the new budget's carryover, and a fair handoff to the next treasurer. A sloppy close turns into months of reconstruction by people who were not there.

## Year-End Timeline

The table uses a June 30 fiscal year end. Shift the dates for another year end.

| When | Task | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Early May | Announce the expense cutoff date and the deadline for reimbursement requests | Treasurer |
| By June 15 | Expense cutoff: no new commitments without board approval | Board |
| By June 25 | All reimbursement requests and outstanding advances submitted | Officers and chairs |
| June 30 | Fiscal year ends; final deposits made | Treasurer |
| By mid-July | Final bank and processor statements reconciled; reviewer signs | Treasurer, reviewer |
| By July 31 | Annual financial report prepared; records delivered to review committee | Treasurer |
| August | Financial review completed and presented | Review committee |
| By November 15 | Federal annual return filed (next business day if on a weekend or holiday) | Treasurer |

## Step-by-Step Close

1. **Set and announce a cutoff.** Tell every officer and chair the last date to incur expenses and to submit reimbursement requests, so the year's costs land in the year's books.
2. **Deposit everything.** Collect all cash, checks, and outstanding event proceeds. Transfer all payment app and processor balances to the bank.
3. **Settle advances.** Every advance gets receipts and returned change, or the board decides how to resolve it.
4. **Pay or record outstanding bills.** Pay approved invoices or list them as unpaid at year end.
5. **Reconcile the final statements** for every account. The non-signer reviews and signs them as in any other month.
6. **Clear stale checks.** Contact payees on checks outstanding more than 30 to 45 days. A check still outstanding after 90 days may need a stop payment, with the amount reversed in the books or a new check issued.
7. **Confirm restricted fund balances.** List each restricted fund with its beginning balance, additions, spending, and ending balance.
8. **Prepare the final budget-to-actual report** for the full year.
9. **Prepare the annual financial report** (template below).
10. **Calculate the carryover** and compare it with the reserve target. See [Booster Club Reserves and Carryover](https://boosterclub.org/finance/reserves/).
11. **Deliver the records** to the review committee. See [Booster Club Audit and Annual Financial Review](https://boosterclub.org/finance/financial-review/).
12. **Update signers and logins** for the new officers. See [Booster Club Banking](https://boosterclub.org/finance/banking/).
13. **Archive the year's records** in the club's shared storage. See [Booster Club Financial Records and Retention](https://boosterclub.org/finance/record-keeping/).

## Annual Financial Report Template

| Line | Item | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| A | Balance at beginning of fiscal year (all accounts) | |
| | **Receipts** | |
| 1 | Membership dues | |
| 2 | Donations and sponsorships | |
| 3 | Fundraisers, gross (list each) | |
| 4 | Concessions, gross | |
| 5 | Interest and other | |
| B | **Total receipts** | |
| | **Disbursements** | |
| 6 | Fundraiser and concession costs | |
| 7 | Program support (by budget line) | |
| 8 | Scholarships and awards | |
| 9 | Insurance, fees, and administration | |
| C | **Total disbursements** | |
| D | **Balance at end of fiscal year (A + B minus C)** | |
| | Ending balance by account (checking, savings, processor) | |
| | Restricted funds included in ending balance (list) | |
| | Unrestricted carryover | |
| | Prepared by (treasurer), date | |

Total receipts here are gross. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) defines gross receipts for its filing thresholds as the total amounts received from all sources during the year, without subtracting any costs or expenses, so the report should show fundraiser income and fundraiser costs separately.

## Federal Filings After the Close

### The annual return

A booster club files Form 990-N, 990-EZ, or 990 depending on its size. Form 990-N is available to organizations whose gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less. A club with gross receipts of $200,000 or more, or total assets of $500,000 or more, files the full Form 990. See [Which Form 990 a Booster Club Files](https://boosterclub.org/taxes/form-990/).

All three are due the 15th day of the 5th month after the fiscal year ends. If that date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the return is due the next business day.

| Fiscal year end | Due date rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| June 30 | November 15 | June 30, 2026 year: November 15, 2026 is a Sunday, so due Monday, November 16, 2026 |
| July 31 | December 15 | July 31, 2026 year: due Tuesday, December 15, 2026 |
| December 31 | May 15 | Calendar 2026: May 15, 2027 is a Saturday, so due Monday, May 17, 2027 |

Form 990-N cannot be extended. A club that fails to file for three consecutive years automatically loses its tax exemption. See [How to File Form 990-N for a Booster Club](https://boosterclub.org/taxes/form-990-n/).

### Forms 1099-NEC

Information returns follow the calendar year, not the club's fiscal year. For payments made after December 31, 2025, a club generally reports payments of $2,000 or more for services to a nonemployee (an independent contractor, clinician, or instructor) on Form 1099-NEC, due January 31. For payments made during 2026, January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, so the forms are due Monday, February 1, 2027. See [Paying Coaches, Instructors, and Contractors](https://boosterclub.org/taxes/paying-people/).

### State filings

Many states require an annual report to keep the corporation in good standing and an annual charitable registration renewal, often with the federal return attached. Requirements, fees, and dates vary by state. See [Booster Club Filing Requirements by State](https://boosterclub.org/states/#calendar).

## Common Mistakes

- **No expense cutoff.** Bills trickle in for months and land in the wrong year, so neither year's books are right.
- **Leaving money in payment apps over year end.** The year-end bank balance understates what the club holds, and the review misses it.
- **Changing officers before the close.** The person who knows the year's activity leaves before the books are finished.
- **Netting fundraisers on the annual report.** The federal return asks for gross receipts, and the report then has to be redone.
- **Treating the 990-N as optional because the club is small.** Three missed years revoke the exemption automatically.

## Checklist

### Before the fiscal year ends

- [ ] Announce the expense cutoff and reimbursement deadline (treasurer)
- [ ] Collect and deposit all event proceeds (event chairs)
- [ ] Transfer all payment app and processor balances to the bank (treasurer)
- [ ] Settle all advances and submit all reimbursement requests (officers and chairs)

### After the fiscal year ends

- [ ] Reconcile final statements for every account and have them reviewed (treasurer and reviewer)
- [ ] Follow up on stale outstanding checks (treasurer)
- [ ] Prepare the full-year budget-to-actual and annual financial report (treasurer)
- [ ] Deliver all records to the review committee (treasurer)
- [ ] Update bank signers and online access for new officers (treasurer and president)
- [ ] Archive the year's records in club storage (treasurer)

### Filing deadlines

- [ ] File Form 990-N, 990-EZ, or 990 by the 15th day of the 5th month after year end (treasurer)
- [ ] File Forms 1099-NEC by January 31 for the prior calendar year's contractor payments (treasurer)
- [ ] File state annual reports and charitable registration renewals (treasurer or secretary)

## Related Pages

- [Booster Club Audit and Annual Financial Review](https://boosterclub.org/finance/financial-review/) for the review that follows the close
- [Booster Club Compliance Calendar](https://boosterclub.org/taxes/compliance-calendar/) for every deadline in one place
- [Which Form 990 a Booster Club Files](https://boosterclub.org/taxes/form-990/) for choosing the right return
- [Booster Club Officer Transition](https://boosterclub.org/governance/officer-transition/) for handing over the books
- [How to Build a Booster Club Budget](https://boosterclub.org/finance/budget/) for using the carryover in next year's budget

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*This page is general information for volunteer-run booster clubs. It is not legal,
tax, or accounting advice, and BoosterClub.org is not a law firm, accounting firm, or
government agency. Rules change and vary by state and district. Confirm current
requirements with the IRS, the relevant state agency, the school district, and a
qualified professional before acting. If a fact on this page is out of date, we want
to know.*

## Sources

1. IRS: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p4221pc.pdf
2. IRS: https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/annual-electronic-filing-requirement-for-small-exempt-organizations-form-990-n-e-postcard
3. IRS: https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/form-990-series-which-forms-do-exempt-organizations-file-filing-phase-in
4. IRS: https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i990ez
5. IRS: https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1099mec