Somebody in your club has to file the 990.
Monthly books and the Form 990 for nonprofit flying clubs and pilot associations, from an Enrolled Agent who flies.
I’m an Enrolled Agent and an instrument-rated pilot, and the treasurer of an aircraft partnership. I know what a club treasurer’s year looks like.
Who this is for
Nonprofit flying clubs, pilot associations, soaring and glider clubs, and other aviation groups run by volunteers. Anywhere in the United States.
If your club is a partnership or co-ownership that files a 1065, start with flying club partnerships and co-ownerships instead. Aircraft owners, leasebacks, flight schools and independent CFIs are on the Aviation page.
What usually goes wrong
- The treasurer changes and nobody knows where the records are.
- The club files the wrong return, or files late. Whether it’s the 990-N, the 990-EZ or the full 990 depends on size, and an extension moves the filing date, not the payment of any tax due.
- Money from guests and non-members mixes with member dues. Some of that income can be taxable.
- Fuel, insurance and maintenance reserves all run through one account with no clear record.
- The board gets no report it can read.
What you get
- Books kept in QuickBooks Online or Xero, closed by the 10th of the following month once statements are in
- A one-page report for the board each quarter
- The annual federal return: Form 990-N, 990-EZ or 990
- The annual filing for your home state
- Notice review: I read it, explain it, and tell you what to do
- A handoff file for the next treasurer
What it costs
From $395 a month, with the annual return included. One fee, billed monthly, so the board can put it in the budget.
That’s the starting point. Your club’s exact monthly fee comes in writing after one 30-minute call, and it stays put unless what the club needs changes.
What moves it: transactions a month, the number of bank and card accounts, whether the club owns aircraft, boats or property, events and nonmember income, and which return the club files.
Quoted separately: Form 990-T, prior years and catch-up, reinstatement after missed returns, audit support, filings in additional states, and representation beyond a single notice.
Why me
Enrolled Agent, admitted to practice before the IRS in all fifty states. Instrument-rated pilot. Aircraft partnership treasurer. Twenty years in California community college administration. Evening and weekend calls are easy to schedule, because volunteer treasurers work days.
Questions people ask
- Do you replace our treasurer?
- No. Your treasurer stays the officer. I keep the books and filings so the job is easy to hand on.
- Do you run payroll?
- I record payroll in your books. A payroll service runs it.
- Do we need an audit?
- Most small clubs don’t. If a lender, a grantor or your state requires one, I can get the files ready for the auditor. That’s quoted separately from the monthly plan.
- We aren’t in California. Can you help?
- Yes. The federal return is the same everywhere, and the annual filing for your home state is part of the plan. If your state asks for anything unusual, I’ll tell you before you sign up.
- What is the free 990 check?
- I look up your club’s record with the IRS: which return it files, whether the last few went in on time, and whether its exempt status is current. If the club files a 990-EZ or a full 990, I read the most recent one too. You get a one-page note with anything worth a second look. No obligation.