Georgia Booster Club Filing Requirements

Forming a Nonprofit Corporation in Georgia

A booster club files Articles of Incorporation with the Secretary of State, Corporations Division: $100 online or $110 by mail. The articles name a registered agent with a Georgia street address and include the IRS-required purpose and dissolution language.

Georgia adds a newspaper step. No later than the next business day after filing, the club sends a notice of intent to incorporate and a $40 publication fee to the legal organ newspaper for the county of its registered office, which runs it once a week for two weeks.

Every Georgia nonprofit corporation files an initial annual registration within 90 days of incorporating, then an annual registration between January 1 and April 1 every year. The nonprofit fee is $30. A corporation that stops filing can be administratively dissolved and must reinstate before it can act in its own name.

State Tax Exemption

Georgia income tax exemption is automatic for a 501(c)(3). The Department of Revenue stopped accepting Form 3605, the old state application, on January 1, 2008. The DOR asks the organization to attach its IRS determination letter, articles, and bylaws to the first copy of its federal exempt organization return filed with Georgia.

The DOR’s FAQ also says exempt organizations file a copy of federal Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF with the Department. It does not address clubs that file only Form 990-N, which has no paper copy, so a 990-NForm 990-NThe e-Postcard: the annual electronic notice a tax-exempt club files with the IRS when its gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less. It is due the 15th day of the 5th month after the fiscal year ends.All terms club should confirm with the DOR. A club with unrelated business income files Georgia Form 600-T with its federal Form 990-T.

Sales Tax

Purchases. Georgia grants no general sales tax exemption to nonprofits. Policy Bulletin SUT-2020-02 states that 501(c)(3) organizations, including parent-teacher organizations, pay tax on purchases for their own use, even band instruments they donate to a school.

Fundraiser sales. O.C.G.A. 48-8-3(56) exempts sales by any parent-teacher organization qualified under Section 501(c)(3). The DOR lists “Nonprofit Booster Clubs comprised of parents and teachers” as an example of a qualifying parent-teacher organization. In Letter Ruling SUT-2026-01, the DOR applied the exemption to a 501(c)(3) band booster organization selling concessions at football games and confirmed it could buy concession inventory for resale without paying tax. Purchases for resale only are covered; supplies the club uses or donates are not.

The exemption follows the club’s character. In Letter Ruling SUT-2015-04, a private school with heavy parent involvement did not qualify because it was primarily a school. A parents-only club, or one whose IRS exemption has lapsed, should request its own letter ruling before relying on it. A club that does not qualify collects the 4 percent state rate plus local tax and files Form ST-3, or Form FS-32 for a one-time event if unregistered.

Charitable Solicitation Registration

Georgia requires charities that solicit the public to register with the Secretary of State, Charities Division (O.C.G.A. 43-17). Most booster clubs qualify for the O.C.G.A. 43-17-9 exemption for an organization with no paid solicitor whose contribution revenue was under $25,000 in both the current and preceding calendar years.

The threshold counts contributions, not ticket or product sales, and is tested every year. A club that crosses $25,000 in donations, or hires a paid solicitor, registers on Form C-100 before soliciting further. Registration costs $35 and lasts 24 months; renewal costs $20 and includes financial statements for the two prior fiscal years, reviewed by a certified public accountant above $500,000 in a year and audited above $1,000,000. Georgia does not accept Form 990-NForm 990-NThe e-Postcard: the annual electronic notice a tax-exempt club files with the IRS when its gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less. It is due the 15th day of the 5th month after the fiscal year ends.All terms, so a club that files it submits Georgia Form C-200 instead. The educational institution exemption in the same section covers schools and organizations they operate or supervise, not an independent booster club.

Raffles and Gaming

Raffles are legal in Georgia for nonprofit, tax-exempt schools, civic organizations, related support groups, and 501(c) organizations, but only with a license from the sheriff of the county where the club operates (O.C.G.A. 16-12-22.1).

1. Eligibility. The organization must have existed for 24 months immediately before licensing.
2. Application. The sheriff’s form asks for officers, everyone operating the raffle, criminal history, and the 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. Some packets still list a DOR exemption letter, which Georgia no longer issues; the club asks what the sheriff accepts instead.
3. Fee and term. The sheriff may charge up to $100 per year. The license expires December 31, and renewal applications are due before January 1.
4. Special limited license. A sheriff may issue a special limited license allowing up to three raffles in a calendar year, each completed within 30 days, with the fee waived. Whether it also waives the 24-month rule or the annual report is unclear; confirm with the sheriff.
5. Annual report. By April 15, every licensed organization files a report of all raffle receipts and expenditures for the prior year, prepared and signed by a certified public accountant (CPA).

Georgia sets no statewide raffle prize cap and does not address 50/50 drawings or online sales separately. A 50/5050/50 raffleA raffle in which the winner receives half of the ticket sales and the club keeps the other half, usually sold and drawn during one game or event. It is legally a raffle with a cash prize, so state raffle law applies.All terms is a raffle and needs the license. Online ticket sales are unclear; the club asks the sheriff first. Bingo is licensed separately by the Secretary of State’s Office of Charity Bingo.

Annual Compliance Calendar for Georgia