Iowa Booster Club Filing Requirements

Forming a Nonprofit Corporation in Iowa

A booster club incorporates under the Revised Iowa Nonprofit Corporation Act (Iowa Code chapter 504) by filing Articles of Incorporation with the Secretary of State, online through Fast Track Filing. The fee is $20. The articles name a registered agent with an Iowa address and should include the IRS-required purpose and dissolution clauses.

Iowa nonprofits file a biennial report, not an annual one, and there is no fee. The first report is due between January 1 and April 1 of the first odd-numbered year after the year of incorporation, and every odd-numbered year after that. A club incorporated in 2026 files between January 1 and April 1, 2027, then in 2029. The report lists the 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, principal office, president, secretary, treasurer, and one director. The Secretary of State may administratively dissolve a corporation that has not filed within 60 days after the due date.

State Tax Exemption

An organization exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) is exempt from Iowa income tax without a separate state application or determination letter. A club with unrelated business income reports it to Iowa on the state’s exempt organization return.

Sales Tax

Purchases. Iowa has no general sales tax exemption for nonprofit organizations. Iowa Code 423.3 lists purchase exemptions for specific types, such as private nonprofit educational institutions, nonprofit museums, and nonprofit hospitals, and a booster club is not among them. The club pays sales tax on supplies and equipment, including items it donates to the school.

Fundraiser sales. Iowa Code 423.3(78) exempts the sales price of goods or services sold by any entity when the profits are used by or donated to a 501(c)(3) organization, a government entity, or a nonprofit private educational institution, and the entire profits are spent for educational, religious, or charitable purposes. A booster club whose profits go to a public school or to its own 501(c)(3) educational purposes generally fits. The exemption is lost to the extent profits are not spent for those purposes.

The same subsection excludes raffles, bingo, and games of skill or chance from the exemption. Raffle entries are taxable at Iowa’s 6 percent state rate plus any local option tax, which is why DIAL requires proof of an Iowa sales tax permit with a gambling license application.

Charitable Solicitation Registration

Iowa has no charitable solicitation registrationCharitable solicitation registrationRegistration with a state office, usually the attorney general or secretary of state, before asking the public for donations, typically renewed each year with a financial report. Whether it is required, and the thresholds and fees, vary by state.All terms requirement for charitable organizations. A volunteer-run booster club files nothing with the Attorney General before soliciting donations, and online fundraising does not trigger a state filing. Iowa’s consumer protection laws on misleading solicitations still apply.

Raffles and Gaming

Raffles are legal in Iowa for qualified organizations licensed by DIAL under Iowa Code chapter 99B. A qualified organization must have an active membership of at least 12 people and a governing body that is not self-perpetuating (members, not the board itself, elect the board), and must meet one of several tests. Two fit booster clubs:

1. It is exempt under Section 501(c)(3), shown by its 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.
2. It is a parent-teacher organization or booster club recognized as a fundraiser and supporter of a school district or school, in a notarized letter signed by the school board president, the superintendent, or a principal.

Licenses. DIAL charges $15 for a 14-day license, $40 for 90 days, $75 for 180 days, and $150 for one year or two years. Applications are due at least 30 days before ticket sales or promotion begin, and processing takes 30 days. The two-year license requires five years in existence, or two years for a local chapter of a national tax-exempt organization.

Raffle sizes. A very small raffle has cash prizes of $1,000 or less and entries sold of $1,000 or less (or donated merchandise prizes of $5,000 or less with entries of $5,000 or less). A small raffle has prizes over $1,000 up to $10,000; a large raffle, over $10,000 up to $100,000, limited to one per calendar year for most licensees; a very large raffle, up to $200,000 or real property, with an extra $100 license.

Without a license. A qualified organization may hold one very small raffle per calendar year without a license. It still follows the raffle rules and pays sales tax on entries, but it is exempt from the annual report.

School licenses. A school district may hold a qualified organization license and, with school board approval, let any parent support group use it for up to two events per calendar year.

Reports. Licensed organizations file an annual report with DIAL by January 31 for the prior calendar year.

Electronic raffles and 50/50s. Only a holder of the two-year license may run an electronic raffle, using a system from a DIAL-licensed manufacturer or distributor, one electronic raffle per day. Entries are issued at the time of sale. A 50/50 is a raffle sized by its pot. Selling entries over the internet is not clearly addressed, so the club asks DIAL first.

Annual Compliance Calendar for Iowa