Is my Volunteer trip tax-deductible?

By peter | Permalink | 1 comment | October 8th, 2007 | Trackback

Donate your car, your old clothes, even your stereo and, in America, the government lets you write it off and deduct it from your annual contribution to the country. But does your time earn you the same earn you the same leeway? Is a trip to build houses in Mexico a deductible donation?

The short answer to this is, “No.” Volunteering is not considered a donation of goods, so it cannot be deducted from your taxes. But, there are ways to lessen the blow come April 15.

While you can’t count wages lost or personal time as a deduction, travel expenses are generally deductible, both to and from the volunteer location. The full cost of flights or bus or train rides can be taken off your taxes and if you drove to your destination and kept track of the mileage, you can give yourself 14 cents a mile in deductions. If you were planning ahead and kept track of actual expenditures on the trip (with receipts) you can deduct the entire cost of the trip.

Transportation costs for local volunteer work is similarly deductible. Did you drive around delivering canned foods for a registered (!) non-profit? Take that same 14 cents per mile.

In 2006, special legislation allowed volunteers working on relief efforts connected with Hurricane Katrina to deduct an even larger percentage of travel expenses. For philanthropic travel to the Gulf Coast, the IRS will spot you 32 cents a mile, although the deduction does not count for travel in 2007.

Personal expenses for volunteer work are generally not deductible. You cannot claim the money used to buy meals or purchase non-essential items on your taxes. But if you buy items for the non-profit you are working with and are not reimbursed, generally those expenses will take a little off the top of the federal government’s bill.

Uniform costs, however, if the outfit is required, generally are tax deductible, as is the cost of keeping those clothes clean. The uniform must be required for the job however, washing your Carhartt jeans at the laundromat doesn’t count.

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