Volunteer work--deductions?

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com (sandybeth) posted:

Not really. If you contribute some materials or equipment, they could be deducted, but I doubt the art museum would need you to do so ... as they probably will have anything needed for your volunteer services.

The standard rate for volunteer mileage is 14 cents per mile -- still unchanged, though the "business mileage" rate has risen to 50.5 cents per mile for 2008.

The value of your time is never deductible. That's why they call it "volunteering."

Bill

See

says to me that there's little you can deduct except for out of pocket expenses which the museum would have had anyway (e.g. you pick up some office supplies on the way there, it's a deduction.)It also implies the commute to the museum isn't even a deduction, but your own personal expense. Although milage while you are running an errand for the museum would be, of course.Joe

Gee, I wonder if the IRS knows about this Q&A, which is incontradiction to Table 2 on page 6 of Pub 526, which clearly states this commute is a deductible charitable contribution.

Regulation § 1.170-2(a)(2) No deduction is allowable for contribution of services. However, unreimbursed expenditures made incident to the rendition of services to an organization contributions to which are deductible may constitute a deductible contribution. For example, the cost of a uniform without general utility which is required to be worn in performing donated services is deductible. Similarly, out-of-pocket transportation expenses necessarily incurred in rendering donated services are deductible. Reasonable expenditures for meals and lodging necessarily incurred while away from home in the course of rendering donated services also are deductible. For the purposes of this section, the phrase while away from home has the same meaning as that phrase is used for purposes of section 162.

Phil, I suspect they are confusing it with the miles deduction a salesman is allowed. The rules suggest that a salesman cannot take the miles from his home to the first account call, but only between that first call and the rest of the day, the first being considered as a commute. I haven't paid much attention to that law, maybe it's changed as well. Note: Pub 526 does allow the cost of oil changes to be prorated to calculate actual costs. (But no repairs, tires, maintenance.)

Joe

Well, I'll piggy-back some questions on this thread since they are related.

Consider a situation where one is doing volunteer work to support, say an academic club at a local public school.

Presumably this has the potential for being a valid charitable deduction since it goes to a local government or a non-profit school. Correct?

OK. Now suppose you are the leader of this group and accompany the group to a competition. Based on reading the information in p526 about troop leaders on camping trips (p.5, Example 1), this would seem to make the mileage and other necessary expenses deductible. Right?

Now, suppose that a parent drives their child to such an event. I would guess this falls in the category of personal expense, since it is to allow their child to participate, rather than facilitating the group activity. Non-deductible, correct?

Other facts. Suppose a person provides transportation for several children, none of them related to the driver. Deductible? Right?

And now the $64,000 (or at least $0.14) question: What is the treatment if a parent drives a group of children to such an event, including one of their own offspring. Is this deductible or not?

It has to be a 501(c)(3). I'm not sure if donations to schools are

501(c)(3) deductible. Certainly government organizations are not 501(c)(3).

If the child is volunteering at the 501(c)(3), then I'd imagine the miles are deductible -- like if you drive them to the soup kitchen. I was thinking just now that it might be deductible on the child's return only (in which case it would probably be meaningless as the standard deduction of $850 might be more than the itemized deduction), but then again, I'm not sure.

Same, they all have to volunteer at the 501(c)(3).

If they all volunteer at the 501(c)(3), I don't see why not.

Out of pocket expenses incurred doing volunteer work for a government organization or a qualified education institution are deductible as charitable contributions. By the way, many privately operated education institutions (Duke University comes to mind) are 501(c)(3) organizations.

The answers below pertain to the situation where the child is doing the volunteering.

I was interested in deductibility of out-of-pocket expenses (i.e., mileage) from the point of view of the driver.

But presumably if one is driving one's own child to participate in, say a debate tournament, this would not be deductible.

What about this case, where one is enabling the operation of the organization. One is providing transportation to allow participation in an event that is being done to advance, say, the education of the group. Presumably the miles are deductible.

If it makes any difference, consider an alternate scenario where a person drives one's personal van around town to pick up children or elderly worshippers and transport them to church. The mileage would be deductible, correct? Is this different from driving a debate team, sports team or band to a school-sanctioned event?

Again, what if the volunteer activity in question is the driving, and not the performance of specific services at the location?

Thanks for pointing out. I read up on it at

I also read that money spent to lobby government is notdeductible. So if I donate a traffic light to my city, it would bedeductible, right?

What about public schools?

It's pushing the edge, and I hope someone else can reply. As for me, I'd say debates, sports, bands/orchestra are generally personal events and not deductible. But volunteering in a soup kitchen is charitable; and performing in debates, sports, or bands for a fundraiser to raise money for a qualified charitable purpose is also charitable -- so if you drive your child to these events the miles would in my opinion be deductible. The publication does not seem to address whether if you drive your child to these events, the miles are deductible on your return or the child's, but I think it should be deductible on your return.

Yes, I would say that these miles are deductible, but I'd be cautious about writing off miles when the end result is personal benefit.

Public schools qualify to receive deductible contributions because they are part of the governments that operate them.