Florida Booster Club Filing Requirements

Forming a Nonprofit Corporation in Florida

The Division of Corporations files not-for-profit corporations under Chapter 617 of the Florida Statutes.

1. File Articles of Incorporation for a Florida not-for-profit corporation. Include the purpose and dissolution language the IRS requires for 501(c)(3) status.
2. Designate a registered agent with a Florida street address. A registered agentRegistered agentThe person or company designated to receive lawsuits and official state notices for the corporation at a street address in the state. Some states call it a resident agent or statutory agent.All terms is the person who accepts legal papers for the club. The agent signs an acceptance.
3. Pay $35 for the articles and $35 for the registered agent designation ($70 total). Certified copies and certificates of status cost extra.

Annual report

Every not-for-profit corporation files an annual report between January 1 and May 1, starting the year after incorporation. A club incorporated in October 2026 files its first report between January 1 and May 1, 2027. The fee is $61.25. The report lists the principal office, the club’s EIN (Employer Identification NumberEINEmployer Identification Number: the nine-digit federal tax identification number the IRS assigns to the club. The club needs it to open a bank account, apply for 501(c)(3) status, and file its annual return.All terms, its federal tax ID), and officers and directors.

Chapter 617 sets no late fee for not-for-profit corporations. A club that does not file faces administrative dissolution and cannot maintain a lawsuit in Florida courts until it complies. Reinstatement after dissolution costs $175.

State Tax Exemption

Florida follows federal status; there is no state application. The Department of Revenue states that tax-exempt organizations with unrelated business income (income from a regular business unrelated to their purpose) are subject to Florida corporate income tax and file Form F-1120 or F-1120A.

Sales Tax

Purchases

Florida exempts purchases by 501(c)(3) organizations used in their customary nonprofit activities (s. 212.08(7)(p)), but only with a certificate. The club files Form DR-5, Application for a Consumer’s Certificate of Exemption, with the Department of Revenue. The Department checks the club’s EINEINEmployer Identification Number: the nine-digit federal tax identification number the IRS assigns to the club. The club needs it to open a bank account, apply for 501(c)(3) status, and file its annual return.All terms against its IRS determination letter and issues Form DR-14, valid for five years. Vendors charge tax unless the certificate is presented.

A parent-teacher organization associated with a K-12 school and organized to raise funds for it has its own DR-5 category, qualifying with a copy of its bylaws.

Fundraiser sales

The purchase certificate does not exempt the club’s own sales. Section 212.08(7)(ll) offers fundraising alternatives:

• School support organizations. An organization “whose sole purpose is to raise funds to support extracurricular activities at public, parochial, or nonprofit schools” teaching grades K-12 may pay tax to suppliers on the cost of food, drink, and serving supplies bought for resale, instead of collecting tax from purchasers. A concession stand buys its hot dogs and drinks tax-paid and charges customers no tax.
• Parent-teacher organizations. Qualifying parent-teacher organizations may pay tax on the cost of items sold for fundraising, rather than collecting tax on the sale price.

Sales outside these rules, such as spirit wear sold by a booster club that is not paying tax at cost, are taxable. A club making taxable sales registers with the Department of Revenue online or on Form DR-1 and collects tax.

Charitable Solicitation Registration

Florida’s Solicitation of Contributions Act (Chapter 496) requires anyone soliciting donations in or from Florida to register with FDACS before soliciting.

• Fees by contributions in the prior fiscal year: under $5,000, $10; $5,000 to $99,999, $75; $100,000 to $199,999, $125; up to $400 for the largest charities. Late filing adds $25 a month.
• Renewal: annually, by one year after FDACS approved the initial registration.
• Financial statements: under $500,000 in contributions, a compilation, review, or audit is optional; $500,000 to $1 million requires a CPA review or audit; $1 million or more requires an audit. Form 990 or 990-EZ may be submitted instead.
• Small organization exemption: a club with less than $50,000 in total contributions in the fiscal yearFiscal yearThe club’s 12-month accounting year, set in the bylaws. Many booster clubs use July 1 through June 30 to match the school year, and the club’s filing deadlines count from the day it ends.All terms, fundraising only through unpaid volunteers, members, or officers, and no professional fundraisers files Form FDACS-10110 each year instead, with no fee. If contributions reach $50,000 during the year, the club registers within 30 days.

Chapter 496 has no exemption for school support organizations or booster clubs. A booster club is also not a district “direct-support organization” under s. 1001.453 unless the school board approves it as one; those organizations face a CPA audit above $250,000 in expenditures.

Raffles and Gaming

Traditional raffles, where a ticket must be bought to enter, are illegal lotteries in Florida. Section 849.0935 allows a 501(c)(3) (and certain other exempt organizations) with a current IRS determination letterDetermination letterThe IRS letter recognizing the club’s federal tax exemption under 501(c)(3). The club keeps it permanently and shows it to banks, donors, grantors, and the school district.All terms to conduct a drawing by chance with no permit and no state fee, if:

• No entry fee, donation, payment, or proof of purchase is required to enter. A suggested minimum donation is allowed, but anyone may enter without paying.
• Tickets and advertising state the rules, the club’s name and address, the source of prize funds, the date, time, and place of the drawing, and that “no purchase or contribution is necessary.”
• Contributors and non-contributors are treated alike, all advertised prizes are awarded, and winners are notified promptly.
• The drawing is not canceled or conditioned on a minimum number of tickets or contributions.

Violations are second-degree misdemeanors. A 50/50 drawing must follow the same free-entry rules. The statute does not address online drawings; the club keeps a free entry method available for online entrants too.

Annual Compliance Calendar for Florida