Hawaii Booster Club Filing Requirements

Forming a Nonprofit Corporation in Hawaii

A booster club incorporates by filing Form DNP-1, Articles of Incorporation, with the Business Registration Division under the Hawaii Nonprofit Corporation Act (Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) chapter 414D). The fee is $25 plus a $1 State Archives fee, filed online through Hawaii Business Express. The articles name a Hawaii registered agent and include the IRS-required purpose and dissolution clauses.

Every nonprofit corporationNonprofit corporationA legal entity created by filing articles of incorporation with the state, separate from the parents who run it. It can open a bank account, sign contracts, and apply for 501(c)(3) status.All terms files an annual report, and the fee is $5. The due date depends on the quarter in which the club registered: a club registered between January 1 and March 31 files by March 31 each year; April 1 to June 30, by June 30; July 1 to September 30, by September 30; October 1 to December 31, by December 31. A corporation that stops filing risks administrative dissolution.

State Tax Exemption

Hawaii income tax exemption is automatic. An organization exempt under the Internal Revenue Code is exempt from Hawaii income tax without a separate application. The only Hawaii income tax form a booster club is likely to see is Form N-70NP, required if the club has $1,000 or more of gross income from an unrelated trade or business.

The general excise tax is different. GET is a tax on the business making the sale, not a tax on the customer, so federal exemption does not touch it. A booster club must apply for a GET exemption on Form G-6, filed electronically at Hawaii Tax Online (hitax.hawaii.gov), with a $20 registration fee for a new account. The application requires the Employer Identification Number (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, the IRS tax ID), IRS determination letter, articles, bylaws, and a balance sheet. Filed within three months of forming, an approved exemption reaches back to the formation date; otherwise it starts on the filing date.

Sales Tax

Purchases. Hawaii has no exemption for purchases by nonprofits. The Department of Taxation’s Tax Facts 37-1 states that there are no GET exemptions based on a customer’s tax-exempt status and that the Department does not issue exemption certificates to nonprofits. Vendors may pass their GET on to the club, up to 4.712 percent in every county.

Fundraiser sales. Even with an approved Form G-6, the exemption covers only receipts from the club’s charitable or educational activities. HRS 237-23(b) excludes “any activity the primary purpose of which is to produce income even though the income is to be used for or in furtherance of the exempt activities.” Concession stands, spirit wear, and product sales exist to raise money, so their gross receipts are generally subject to GET at 4 percent plus the 0.5 percent county surcharge. A club with taxable sales holds a GET license and files GET returns. Donations remain outside GET.

Charitable Solicitation Registration

Hawaii requires every charitable organization that solicits contributions in Hawaii to register with the Department of the Attorney General, Tax and Charities Division, unless it obtains an exemption. Registration (the Hawaii Initial Registration) is filed online and has no fee. Exemption is not automatic: the club must apply for it online.

Exemptions that can fit a booster club:

1. Under $25,000. An organization that normally receives less than $25,000 in contributions per year (the average of the last three years) and does not pay a professional solicitor or fundraising counsel. Membership dues and grants from government or other 501(c)(3) organizations do not count as contributions.
2. School-affiliated organization. A 501(c)(3) with an established identity with, and express authorization from, an educational institution accredited by a listed body (the list includes the Western Association of Schools and Colleges), soliciting primarily from parents, alumni, students, and faculty.

A registered club files an annual financial report. Clubs that file Form 990 or 990-EZ submit the report within 10 business days of filing with the IRS. Clubs that file Form 990-N submit a Hawaii transmittal by the 15th day of the 5th month after the fiscal year ends. The annual fee is based on gross revenue: none under $25,000, $25 from $25,000 to $49,999, $50 from $50,000 to $99,999, and $100 from $100,000 to $249,999. Late reports and late fees each draw penalties of $20 per day, up to $1,000.

Raffles and Gaming

Raffles are prohibited in Hawaii. Hawaii’s penal code defines gambling as staking something of value on a contest of chance (HRS 712-1220), and Hawaii law contains no exception for charitable or school organizations. A raffle, a 50/50 drawing50/50 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, a bingo night, or a casino night with prizes all fall within the prohibition, whether tickets are sold in person or online. There is no agency that issues raffle permits because none exist.

Hawaii booster clubs use free-entry door-prize drawings or silent auctions instead. A drawing that requires a donation or ticket purchase to enter is a raffle, whatever the flyer calls it.

No Hawaii statute specific to booster clubs was found; school-level approval under the statewide Department of Education still applies.

Annual Compliance Calendar for Hawaii