We’re talking in this article about charity volunteer deductions under the Federal income tax rules. Different rules apply to business and other deductions, and under State income tax laws. As always, for more information contact an experienced and capable tax advisor.
First questions for you to answer
- Do you itemize deductions on your Federal income tax return? If you do, keep reading.
- If you don’t, continue only for information; you won’t be getting a charitable deduction.
- Are you volunteering for a Qualified Organization? Many “nonprofit” organizations, however valuable, are not Qualified Organizations.
- To be a Qualified Organization the organization must be a church or a government unit or apply to the IRS.
- See FAQ #2 below for how to check if you are dealing with a Qualified Organization.
The basic test, use of your car, record keeping
- The basic test. You may be able to deduct amounts you pay in giving services to a qualified organization. The amounts must be
- (a) unreimbursed, and
- (b) directly connected with the services you gave, and
- (c) incurred only because of the services you gave, and
- (d) not personal, living or family expenses.
- If you use your car in providing services that pass the basic test you can deduct:
- 14 cents per mile to and from the Qualified Organization location, or actual variable costs related to that mileage (look below for more information).
- Plus tolls and parking.
- Be sure to keep good records — you need to be able to show the basis for your deduction.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ #1 – I donate time or services. How much can I deduct?
You can not deduct the value of your time or services donated to a charity. Volunteers are often surprised about this. Of course, since the volunteer wasn’t paid for the services, they didn’t receive taxable income. No taxable income, no tax deduction – a simple, clean result.
FAQ #2 – How do I find out if the group is a Qualified Organization?
Remember, you can only charitable contributions made to groups that are eligible to receive them. Many groups, although they are nonprofits, are not eligible.
You can quickly check the status of a nonprofit at CharityCheck101.org. It lists every nonprofit and charity recognized by the IRS. When you find the group’s report at CharityCheck101.org, look at the first line of its Tax Status tab.
- Do a name based search at CharityCheck101.org.
- If you have the group’s 9-digit EIN, do an EIN Magic search.
Note, churches and government units are not required to be recognized by the IRS to be Qualified Organizations.
FAQ #3 – Can I deduct donations made before the date the group is recognized by the IRS?
We’re talking about groups other than churches and government units here. The timing here can get a bit tricky. Keep in touch with the organization so you’ll know if and when it receives its IRS determination.
- You can’t deduct unless the organization actually gets its 501(c)(3) tax-exemption ruling from the IRS.
- Once the ruling is received, however, the organization’s qualified status is retroactive to the date it applied for the exemption (or the date it was created/organized, if it filed within 27 months of being created/organized). See “Effective date of exemption” on page 24 of IRS Publication 557.
Here’s an example: Let’s say the organization was created/organized on Jan 1, 2012 and filed for exemption on May 1, 2012. Whenever it receives a positive determination from the IRS, you can deduct donations starting Jan 1, 2012. If the organization doesn’t hear from the IRS until after Apr 15, 2013, however, you won’t have a basis to deduct in you file on or before April 15. Extensions / amended returns are a possibility — but could be costly compared to the value of the deduction.
FAQ #4 – What’s the IRS publication on this subject?
See IRS Publication 526 — Charitable Contributions for more details and for examples.
Many other questions and answers
See the Comments section at the bottom of the page for many more questions and answers.
Don’t travel to the charity by car?
Take the bus, train, subway, taxi or other public transportation to get to and from the charity’s location? As described in more detail under “Other costs” above, you can deduct those costs so long as: they are directly connected and only incurred because of the services you give; and are not personal, living or family expenses (and of course aren’t reimbursed).
Yes, 14 cents per mile is silly
Undoubtedly you’ve seen the regular updates from the IRS and other sources concerning deducting costs of use of a car. The Internal Revenue Code requires the IRS to adjust the business and medical mileage rates based on changes in costs of operating a vehicle.
Beginning January 1, 2013, for example, you can deduct 56.5 cents per mile for business miles driven and 24 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes. The IRS based the standard mileage rate for business on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile. The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs as determined by the same study.
The 14 cents is written right in the Internal Revenue Code (without language suggesting it be adjusted for inflation). See IRC Section 170(i) — which is part of the charitable deduction section of the Code. It hasn’t been changed in years. To get it changed, Congress will have to amend it — time to talk with your Congressperson.
You can use actual costs rather than 14 cents per mile
The 14 cents per mile charitable rate is optional. Instead, a volunteer can deduct actual variable costs of operating the car for volunteer purposes. These include gasoline and oil and all taxes thereon. They do not include general repair and maintenance expenses, depreciation, registration fees, or the costs of tires or insurance.
- Actual variable costs are likely higher than 14 cents per mile. For example, if the volunteer’s car gets 20 miles per gallon and gasoline costs $3.50 per gallon, the cost of gasoline is 17.5 cents per mile.
- By comparison, the medical and moving rate (which is also based on variable costs, but is not limited to a rate set by statute) is now 23 cents per mile.
- Fixed costs (such as depreciation or lease payments, insurance, and license and registration fees) are not allowed for charitable, medical or moving mileage calculations.
Mileage rate history
|
Start Date |
IRS Standard Mileage Rate (cents per mile) |
||
|
Business |
Medical and Moving |
Charity Volunteer |
|
|
January 1, 2013 |
56.5 |
24 |
14 |
|
January 1, 2012 |
55.5 |
23 |
14 |
|
July 1, 2011 |
55.5 |
23.5 |
14 |
|
January 1, 2011 |
51 |
19 |
14 |
|
January 1, 2010 |
50 |
16.5 |
14 |
|
January 1, 2009 |
55 |
24 |
14 |
|
July 1, 2008 |
58.5 |
27 |
14 |
|
January 1, 2008 |
50.5 |
19 |
14 |
|
January 1, 2007 |
48.5 |
20 |
14 |
For rates prior to 2007 (including special Hurricane Katrina rates in effect in 2005 and 2006) see this IRS document.
Great description of what auto miles and expenses I can deduct. Can you provide info as to what line on Schedule A this goes on? It does not fit the description of either line 16 or 17 but could be line 17. then, if expense is over $500 (I drive a lot) do I have to show it on form 8283 and where? Thanks.
On Schedule A for Form 1040 for 2011 – if you want to deduct miles and out-of-pocket expenses, Line 16 appears to be the place. Suggest you provide a supplement that explains the total amount you enter in Line 16.
Here’s a link to the IRS Schedule A instructions (see page A-8 for Lines 16 and 17):
As you noted, Form 8283 applies to Line 17.
As always, we provide general information, not advice on specific cases — consult your tax advisor.
Can volunteering to help neighbors on a regular basis be counted as charitable contributions,(i.e. supplying trips to medical treatment, around-the-house upkeep, etc.)? If so, how does one go about claiming time, expenses,etc.?
Danny -
It sounds like you are a terrific neighbor.
** No one can deduct the value of their time when volunteering (see the initial paragraph of the above article).
** A volunteer can deduct costs for volunteering for Qualified Organization (see paragraph #2 in the above article).
** You might check around in your community to see if there is a Qualified Organization that helps people in the ways you like to. If you help people as a volunteer for a Qualified Organization, you can then deduct mileage and other costs as outlined above.
Ed
My husband and I both volunteer for two qualified organizations (I am the unpaid Event Director of one). Some of the volunteer events are out of town and run multiple days where we have to travel and find a lodging/hotel, etc. However, in order for us to leave town for the volunteer event, we must board our dog…are these types of expenses deductible since in order for us to volunteer we incurr them?
Mel -
The travel and lodging/hotel costs should be deductible (assuming you’re not combining the trip with other purposes).
Initially, I thought the dog boarding expenses would also be deductible but am concerned by this question and answer in Table 2 on page 5 of IRS Publication 526:
Question: I pay a babysitter to watch my children while I do volunteer work for a qualified organization. Can I deduct these costs?
Answer: No, you cannot deduct payments for child care expenses as a charitable contribution, even if they are necessary so you can do volunteer work for a qualified organization.
Almost everyone understands that dogs are different from children, but I’m not sure that the IRS rules would be more lenient for dog boarding than for child care. Seems like an odd result though, take the dog with you and find a hotel that accepts pets and you’re OK deducting the lodging cost; board the dog near home and you’re not OK deducting the boarding costs. Ah, I forgot that primary concept — this is tax law, it doesn’t have to make sense.
As always, we provide general information, not advice on specific cases — consult your tax advisor.
My husband is paid for one task, but also does a class (volunteer) at an non-profit on the same day. Can he deduct his mileage or 1/2?
kiiwii -
This is a bit trickier than it may seem. I’m thinking that maybe business mileage applies, and the business rate is about 4 times as high as the volunteer rate. So, please help me better understand the facts.
Your husband is paid for one task — is that at the non-profit, or a different organization?
If it’s a different organization, is it his only paid job or does he have other paid jobs?
If it’s two or more different organizations, please give an example of his driving miles from home — to the paid task(s) — to the non-profit — then back to home.
Thanks.
Keep in mind that commuting mileage (driving to and from a job) is NOT deductible. That includes mileage to and from part-time jobs, and even jobs at different locations (for example, a general contractor who works on different projects during a year).
What would make the situation you describe a bit trickier is if – as asked – the paid location (“A”) is different than the volunteer location (“B”). (If they are the same, then NO mileage costs are deductible.) The IRS rules are clear for those getting paid at both A and B – only the mileage BETWEEN A and B is deductible. The mileage TO site A is commuting, and the mileage from B to home is also commuting.
So the safest thing (as unlikely as an IRS audit may be), assuming A and B are different locations, would be to only deduct mileage between A and B.
I have volunteered for a non-profit theater for many years and am used to keeping records of and taking the mileage deduction. Last year I began working on some productions on the backstage crew, for which I receive a small stipend per performance “for expenses,” and my per-show contract lists me as a “paid volunteer.” Because this is a “sporadic activity or hobby” I have determined that the “nonemployee compensation” shown in Box 7 of my 1099-MISC should be reported on Form 1040, Line 21. But here comes the big question. Do I deduct my mileage for the “paid volunteer” activity as volunteer mileage or as business mileage (and can I still deduct it at all, or is it now considered “commuting”)? Thanks!
Rosie -
Can you distinguish between trips that are “purely volunteer” and those that are “paid volunteer”? Or are you always going to/from the theater as a “paid volunteer”?
Serious- Yes, I can. My datebook shows the paid performances, unpaid rehearsals and other performances when I only ushered (also unpaid). Thanks!
Rosie -
A few thoughts for you:
** Continue to keep track of your miles, noting which are for the paid work and which are for the volunteer work.
** Use the business rate for deducting the paid miles (remember, you can’t deduct the commuting portion).
** Use the charity / volunteer rate for the volunteer miles (or, if you are up to it, the actual variable costs — “You can use actual costs . . .” above).
** Put a dollar value on (a) the time and energy you’ll spend keeping track of miles and costs and (b) the tax benefits you’ll receive (the amount of the deduction times your effective income tax rate). If (b) isn’t bigger than (a), consider spending your time on things that are more fun.
Many thanks!
Odometer readings:
Thank you for this informative article. I do have a question regarding record keeping and mileage. Unfortunately we have not been very diligent in keeping travel records during our involvement with our children’s non’profit youth organization, Job’s Daughters. So my questions is, how important is keeping track of the odometer reading when traveling to and from non-profit activities and traveling about town for them? I told my wife she should be good with just going through her calendar for the last 7 months and finding all the times she’s attended activities. Then she can just use a map program to determine the mileage between home and the activity and log it. Am I giving her correct information?
Ellis -
It boils down to being able to back up (prove) the miles driven, in case the IRS asks for more information about the deduction.
The best proof is a carefully and concurrently kept written record.
Very strong = a written log kept each day showing odometer readings, the miles driven and the activities. Very weak = a guess you make on April 14 of the following year. Very sane = some place in between, but closer to the strong end of the scale.
Given that your wife doesn’t have the best already in place, what you’ve proposed sounds very sane. Especially if her calendar was kept concurrently as her activities unfolded.
Do a calculation of the round trip distance to each location (using the shortest route, or the route your wife always takes) using MapQuest, Google Maps or other calculation that you can back up. Then do the arithmetic.
Moving forward, stick with the concurrent calendar showing where she went. At the end of the year she’ll have a pretty good record.
We hope this helps.
As always, we provide general information, not advice on specific cases — consult your tax advisor.
I volunteer for a diaster relief non-for-profit. I specialize in storm debris clean up. I would like to get an equipment trailer and a grapple bucket for my tractor, so I can take it along to help with heavy trees and other large debris. Is there anyway of writing off those expenses? I would have no personal use for either if I was not doing this volunteer work.
Jerud -
The answer could very well be “Yes” — follow these steps:
We suggested you give the organization ownership and control so you can make the best case with the IRS. If you haven’t given up all the value of the equipment, you haven’t made a total gift. The IRS could easily question whether you had ongoing usage of the equipment for your own purposes, or the right to obtain proceeds if you sold it.
As always, we provide general information, not advice on specific cases — consult your tax advisor.
My wife works as a teacher at a non-profit school and due to a drop in the number of students she will be working as a volunteer teacher. I assume we can itemize the miles she drives based on the dicussion above, but I am wondering about material she buys to supply her class room? Also we are considering buying her a computer that would be primarly be used for school (in class as well as preparing material)? Can we itemize this as well?
Tom —
I’ll assume you’ve checked out the two basic starting issues: is it a Qualified Organization?, and do you itemize deductions?
Readers: any suggestions?
Regarding the computer, IRS Publication 526 says that your out-of-pocket expenses can be deducted only if (among other things) you incurred those expenses “only because of the services you gave” to the charitable organization. So, unfortunately, “primarily” for volunteer work almost certainly isn’t good enough. If you want to deduct the computer cost, you should buy the computer for the school.
I volunteer for a private school,(503c) driving their students to activities, sports, educational in nature. Can I deduct an hourly rate for doing this? For instance another private school I worked for paid me $15.00 per hour door to door for driving their students. Can I apply this rate as a deduction while I am volunteering my time?
Bruce -
You can not deduct the value of your time or services donated to a charity. Volunteers are often surprised about this. Of course, since the volunteer wasn’t paid for the services, they didn’t receive taxable income. No taxable income, no tax deduction – a simple, clean result.
Not the answer you want – but it’ll save you a bunch of record-keeping.
This is a little involved. I volunteer as a track coach at a state university, therefore it is a govt entity and a charitable institution. I live 250 miles from the university and travel back and forth, but since the distance is so great I rent a small apartment at the university and stay a couple of weeks at a time. My main home, wife and friends are still where they have been for years. This is something I do not get paid for and just love track. Are my mileage expenses, living expenses away from home and food costs deductible as a charitable contribution?
In order to give full disclosure, I also hope to get a job as a track coach at the university next year and my son is on scholarship at the university for track. He does not live with me, he is on full scholarship and lives in a dorm and has a full meal plan. He also has his own car and very seldom do we travel back and forth together as schedules just do not permit. On the occasion that he would come home with me I would understand that these miles would not count.
Ray -
Let’s handle the easier part first. As a volunteer (even though you hope to get a job with the university), you can deduct your vehicle expenses to and from the volunteer work. Use the 14 cents per mile or, likely more beneficial, actual variable costs as spelled out above in the article.
The more challenging part relates to your personal and living costs when you are at the university location. Note that the rules say you can deduct costs if they are not personal, living or family expenses. The Out-of-Pocket Expenses in Giving Services section of IRS Publication 526 contains several examples that you should review (starts on page 4 of the Publication). It appears that the portion of your day that you spend on the volunteer activities could be an important factor (if you spend the full day, it’s more likely you could deduct the housing cost). Perhaps a portion of your food costs would be deductible.
As always, we provide general information, not advice on specific cases — consult your tax advisor.
The subsection in IRS Publication 526 on “Deductible Travel Expenses” says that lodging costs and meals are types of costs that can be deductible, under some circumstances. But at the top of the section (“Travel”) is this:
“Generally, you can claim a charitable contribution deduction for travel expenses … only if there is no significant element of personal pleasure, recreation, or vacation in the travel.”
The sticking point is that your son is at the university, and thus your expenses for lodging and other away-from-home costs give you the opportunity to spend time with him that you otherwise would not be able to. Also, note that the IRS knows that your son is at that university, because the university issues an IRS Form 1098-T each year to document your son’s scholarship.
I take care of my mother who is blind and has Heart problems 24/7. I drive to her house everyday and take her to doctors appt and shopping. Can a write off the miles and gas. My mother lives in a low income housing so I pay for gas and anything she cant afford.
Donna -
You are doing wonderful things helping your mother.
** The costs of the good things you are doing, however, won’t qualify for a charitable deduction because your mother is not a qualified organization. I don’t believe any individual can be a qualified organization.
** You might look into whether your mother could be treated as your dependent for tax purposes (in which case you might deduct medical and related transportation costs), or whether in some way you might use the [child and] dependent care credit. Both these questions are far beyond the scope of SeriousGivers.org — consult your tax advisor.
I volunteer as a scuba diving instructor for a 501(c) non-profit organization. Scuba instructor is not my profession and I don’t take any sort of monetary compensation; my time is completely voluntary. I purchase annual liability insurance specifically for my scuba instruction certification and also pay required annual license fees. Can I deduct the liability insurance cost and license fees? The insurance and fees do not cover any aspects of my life other than my volunteer scuba instruction position.
Mike -
.
Based on what you’ve described, it looks like you should be in clear waters
The tests for other costs a volunteer can deduct appear to apply. Your insurance and license costs appear to be (i) unreimbursed, and (ii) directly connected with the services you give, and (iii) incurred only because of the services you give, and (iv) not personal, living or family expenses.
One thing for you to double check: You indicate that it’s a 501(c)(3) — make sure it’s a public charity. If it’s a 501(c)(3) private foundation you’re dealing with additional rules.
I am a volunteer secretary/treasurer of a 501(c)(3) organization. We do not have a physical office, but I must travel to/from the post office and the bank quite frequently for organizational business. I also travel to our charity events and do site visits prior to the events. Can I deduct the mileage for all of these different types of trips as long as I keep ongoing records?
Erica – Assuming your travel to/from the post office and bank is exclusively for the business of the charity, you should be able to deduct your mileage. Note, as discussed in the article above, deducting your actual variable costs could get you a bigger deduction than the measly 14 cents per mile.
I have a question similar to the teacher above. I am a trustee at my church and am in charge of some acess control and other computer based programs as well as answering several emails throughout the day. In your opinion would a computer purchase be a reasonable decuction to fullfill these duties? I will also mention that my term is for 4 years, i know that was a piece of the question asked earlier. (so this computer would be used for more than just one year.).
Thanks
Nody – The IRS rules are clear that to deduct other costs they must be (a) incurred only because of the services you gave and (b) not personal, living or family expenses — among other requirements. If you buy the computer and keep it with you, the challenge will be showing that you used it only for church purposes during its useful life (which may extend beyond your 4 year term) and not for personal purposes. And seeking to take a deduction for the full cost of the computer in the year you purchase it would raise other issues.
Your case would be much, much cleaner if you donated the money to the church and it bought the computer in its own name, and you used it only at the church facilities, and your agreement with the church was that it would only be used for church purposes. You could then deduct the amount of your donation, and do it all in the same year. Kind of a combination of the Jerud question (Aug 9, 2012) and the Tom question (Aug 22, 2012).
When calculating volunteer time served (# of hours), can you include the time spent commuting to the location of service? (I.e., not a special project location, but simply from your home to the office/main place of business for the charity).
KLLT – A couple of thoughts for you:
** If the calculation of volunteer time is with the thought that there would be a tax deduction for the volunteer, that won’t work. A volunteer can not deduct the value of the time or services they donate to a charity. See the first paragraph of the above article.
** If the calculation is so the charity can track / talk about / report the hours its volunteers provide, I think it would be fine for the charity to include commuting time. But I’d discuss it with the charity and find out what the purpose of the tracking is, and whether there are any guidelines that apply.
Ed
If I ride my bike to volunteer (instead of driving) can I still take the mileage deduction on my taxes?
kim – Unfortunately, your low carbon footprint approach produces no mileage deduction. The mileage deduction (14 cents per mile) is in lieu of tracking and deducting actual variable costs of a motor vehicle. You might look at the possibility of deducting other out-of-costs related to your volunteering. And, of course, if you took the bus to and from your volunteer work you could deduct those costs. Happy volunteering! – Ed
I’m a non-paid volunteer coach and president of a non profit travel baseball organization and board member of another
r non profit organization both have IRS tax EIN NUMBERS and both have applied for 501c3 can i deduct mileage for practices,games,board mtgs
Danny – The timing here can get a bit tricky.
** You can’t deduct unless the organization actually gets its 501(c)(3) tax-exemption ruling from the IRS.
** Once the ruling is received, however, the organization’s qualified status is retroactive to the date it applied for the exemption (or the date it was created/organized, if it filed within 27 months of being created/organized).
** Here’s an example: Let’s say the organization was created/organized on Jan 1, 2012 and filed for exemption on May 1, 2012. Whenever it receives a positive determination from the IRS, you can deduct mileage starting Jan 1, 2012. If the organization doesn’t hear from the IRS until after Apr 15, 2013, however, you won’t have a basis to deduct in you file on or before April 15. Extensions / amended returns are a possibility — but could be costly compared to the value of the deduction.
** In any event, keep in touch with the organization so you’ll know if and when it receives its determination.
** See “Effective date of exemption” on page 24 of IRS Publication 557.
I have one full time job and a part time job 90 miles away. Fridays are the only days I work at both jobs- I’m aware that would be the only day I could use the business deduction. I stay with a family member, work Saturday nights into Sunday mornings. Usually on Sundays, I drive the 90 miles, volunteer at a 501(c) charitable organization, then return to my home. I’m unsure if I am I able to minus the 90 miles on Sunday as charitable purposes because I would have to drive the 90 miles if I did not volunteer at that charity. Is that considered a charitable deduction or is it considered a personal commute (nondeductible)? Thank you!
Sam – I may have missed it, but here’s what I understand to be your situation. You drive 90 miles from your home to get to your work location. On Sundays, you drive from your work location on your way back to your home. You stop along the way and volunteer, then continue to home.
If that’s the case, it appears that your travel on Sundays would not qualify for the charitable mileage deduction, because it would (a) not be not incurred only because of the services you gave and/or (b) be considered personal mileage.
I’d suggest you investigate further the business mileage aspects of your travel.
I drove this Summer from Texas to New York State to volunteer as a camp counselor. While there I spent 2 days in New York City, but otherwise the entire trip was spent traveling to/from camp and volunteering at the camp. I can deduct all those miles? And what about hotel on the way to/from?
It is, by the way, a qualified organization and I will be itemizing my deductions this year.
Chris – Looks to me like you can deduct 14 cents per mile to and from your Texas location to the volunteer location. Or the actual variable costs related to that mileage (gas alone is probably more than 14 cents per mile). The hotel costs for stays between Texas and the volunteer location also look deductible. Make sure you have good records. – Ed
My wife does volunteer work for a qualified youth sports organization. She receives a de minimus stipend ($1,500/year) for her work. She is not an employee of the organization. In order to do her work for the organization, she purchases supplies and other items that are used exclusively for this work and travels some. Can these expenses and mileage be deducted as charitable donations or must these be categorized as business expenses on our tax return? Thanks.
Kevin – Tough question. I’ve done a bit of searching and haven’t found anything on this. I don’t have the answer for you.
I suggest you discuss this with an experienced and capable tax advisor. I do, however, have a few thoughts for consideration:
** The stipend appears to be reportable income.
** The rules relating to deducting costs of volunteering say the costs must be unreimbursed. The IRS could argue that the stipend = reimbursement for costs.
** It does seem that the costs your wife incurs, to the extent they exceed the stipend, might be deducted as charitable contributions. But perhaps she’d be better off deducting them as business expenses (certainly the mileage rate is better than the volunteer mileage rate).
** There are also labor law issues here — perhaps the organization has addressed those and everyone is confident that your wife is not an employee. Employees have labor law protections that volunteers do not have.
-Ed
I volunteer several hours a week at a non profit 501 c 3 clinic. The mileage is minimal but can the hours I volunteer count as charity?
Tonya – Sorry to say, but there’s no deduction for volunteered services. Volunteers are often surprised about this. Of course, since the volunteer wasn’t paid for the services, they didn’t receive taxable income. No taxable income, no tax deduction – a simple, clean result. – Ed
I am a volunteer officer for a qualified 501(c)3 nonprofit and have an office in my house. Can I deduct any “home office” expense? (heating, etc.)
Lorna – The IRS has loosened up the home office business deduction rules starting Jan 1, 2013. Read about the IRS rule changes. Does your charitable volunteer work also build your reputation and support your business? Perhaps you might look at the business rules.
I don’t see anything in the business home office rules that suggests they would work for volunteer costs. One of the challenges you’ll face are the charitable deduction rules that say the expenses must be (a) incurred only because of the services you gave, and (b) not personal, living or family expenses. So, I’m feeling that successfully taking a charitable home office deduction is a long-shot. It might be worth pursuing if your charitable volunteer work involves the exclusive use of your home office, or a large portion of the use.
If you choose to pursue the charitable home office deduction, be sure to work with an experienced and capable tax advisor.
My 17 year old dependent son volunteers at a qualified charitable organization. He drives to and from the charitable organization once a week. Is it legal for me to claim the mileage since I am paying for the gas?
Rob – I’ve looked quite a bit and must admit — I’m stumped!
Not finding authority on costs related to a dependent child volunteering. Anyone out there have the answer for Rob? Please. – Ed
This is from IRS Publication 526:
“You cannot deduct contributions to specific individuals, including the following.
* Expenses you paid for another person who provided services to a qualified organization.
Example. Your son does missionary work. You pay his expenses. You cannot claim a deduction for your son’s unreimbursed expenses related to his contribution of services.”
Your situation isn’t commonly discussed, as was pointed out above. However, there is a lot of discussion on the Web about something similar: If your dependent child makes a charitable contribution, can you can claim that contribution on your taxes? The universal answer is “no” – you have to personally make the contribution. And so the answer in this case is also “no” – you can’t claim mileage, even if the car your son drives belongs to you and you pay for gasoline, insurance, etc.
That conclusion may seem illogical. But the rationale (which may not interest you) is that your son is presumed to be willing to pay the cost of gasoline (as a volunteer), and therefore that your paying for gasoline was a gift to your son. Gifts to individuals, of course, aren’t deductible. (And no, the IRS wouldn’t be interested in a statement from your son saying that the only way that he’d do this volunteer work is if he personally didn’t have any direct costs.)
I am a volunteer wrestling coach for a public school. To be the coach I had to take several classes that are required by the state. Are the cost of these classes deductible?
MHL – To deduct “other costs” as a charitable contribution they must be: (i) unreimbursed, and (ii) directly connected with the services you gave, and (iii) incurred only because of the services you gave, and (iv) not personal, living or family expenses. Assuming the class is only so you can volunteer (it doesn’t give you some other personal benefit) and you weren’t reimbursed, sounds like a winner to me. – Ed
My wife is very involved in church and volunteers for the choir and will be volunteering on church council this year. I realize the time she volunteers for these activities are not deductible, however are the travel expenses, mileage, deductible for choir practice and church council meetings. We live approximately 30 miles roundtrip from the church.
Many thanks,
Joel
Joel – Mileage and other out-of-pocket costs should be deductible as a charitable contribution. Remember that you can deduct actual variable costs, plus parking and tolls, etc. Variable costs will typically be more than 14 cents per mile. If gas costs $4/gallon and you get 25 miles/gallon, that’s already 16 cents/mile. Review the article above; keep good records. – Ed