Illinois Booster Club Filing Requirements

Forming a Nonprofit Corporation in Illinois

A booster club incorporates under the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986 by filing Form NFP 102.10, Articles of Incorporation, with the Secretary of State. The fee is $50, or $75 for 24-hour service when filed online. The articles name an Illinois registered agent and include the IRS-required purpose and dissolution clauses.

Every Illinois not-for-profit corporation files Form NFP 114.05, with a $10 fee, before the first day of its anniversary month: a club incorporated in September files by August 31. Missing it leads to penalties and eventually administrative dissolution.

State Tax Exemption

An organization exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) is also exempt from Illinois income tax, and no state application is required. A club with unrelated business income reported on federal Form 990-T files the Illinois exempt organization return for that income.

Sales tax exemption is a separate application. Illinois issues a sales tax exemption number, the E-number, to organizations organized and operated exclusively for charitable, religious, or educational purposes. The club applies on Form STAX-1 with its articles, bylaws, IRS determination letter, and financial statements; processing can take up to 90 days, and IDOR decides eligibility from those documents.

Sales Tax

Purchases. With an E-number, the club buys supplies, equipment, and items donated to the school without paying Illinois sales tax by giving the vendor its exemption number. Without an E-number, the club pays tax like any buyer.

Fundraiser sales. An E-number does not make the club’s own sales tax-free. IDOR’s guidance for exempt organizations (PIO-37) says exempt organizations owe Retailers’ Occupation Tax on retail sales unless one of three exceptions applies:

1. The items are sold only to the organization’s members or students.
2. The sales are not in direct competition with businesses in the community.
3. The sale is an occasional dinner, social, or similar event open to the public, held no more than twice in a year.

A club selling spirit wear to the public year-round, or running concessions that compete with local businesses, registers as a retailer and collects 6.25 percent plus local tax. IDOR applies these tests to specific facts, so a club with recurring sales asks IDOR before assuming an exception applies.

Charitable Solicitation Registration

Illinois requires every charitable organization that solicits contributions in Illinois, or is located in Illinois, to register with the Attorney General’s Charitable Trust Bureau before soliciting (225 ILCS 460/2). Registration is on Form CO-1 with a $15 fee. Soliciting before registering triggers a $200 late registration fee.

Two features catch booster clubs. The Act counts payments for merchandise at full value as contributions, so candy and spirit wear sales count toward the thresholds. And small clubs still register: a club receiving no more than $15,000 in a calendar year files the initial registration, then is exempt from annual reports once the Attorney General confirms it.

Registered clubs file Form AG990-IL by June 30 for a calendar-year club, or within six months after the fiscal year ends (December 31 for a June 30 year end), with a $15 fee and a $100 late fee. Contribution levels set what is attached:

A parent-teacher organization is exempt from registration if it is controlled by teachers and parents of a named school, turns contributions over to that school after reasonable expenses, uses only volunteers, nets no more than $50,000 per calendar year, and accounts to the school annually (225 ILCS 460/3(b)(11)). A parents-only club that spends directly on the program may not fit and should register.

Raffles and Gaming

Raffles are legal in Illinois only under a license from the local government where the winning tickets are drawn, under the Raffles and Poker Runs Act (230 ILCS 15). The city or village licenses the raffle; if the drawing location is in unincorporated territory, the county does. If neither has adopted a licensing system, no license is available and the raffle cannot be held there.

1. Eligibility. The organization must have existed continuously for five years before applying. The authority may waive this only for a local organization chartered by a national or state organization that meets the rule.
2. Local limits. The ordinance sets the license fee, prize limits, ticket price limits, and selling period. A license covers one raffle or several over a period of up to one year.
3. Management. One designated manager supervises and gives a fidelity bond unless the license waives it. Only members or officers manage it, unpaid.
4. Records and reports. Raffle receipts go into a separate account kept by someone other than the club’s regular bookkeeper. After each raffle the club reports receipts, expenses, and net proceeds to the licensing government and its members, and keeps records three years.

A 50/50 needs the same license. The Act lets licensees sell chances anywhere in Illinois and pay third parties for website hosting and payment processing, but local ordinances can restrict online sales, so the club gets written confirmation from its licensing authority first. Bingo is licensed separately by IDOR.

Annual Compliance Calendar for Illinois