Volunteering This Summer? Find Out if Your Work is Tax Deductible

Besides donating money, one of the best ways you can support a worthy cause is to volunteer. Many organizations are limited by what they can do because they don’t have the support staff and leaders to help them grow. Through volunteer work, you can lend your expertise or learn a new skill while assisting others.

While it’s probably not the only reason you would want to volunteer, there are certainly some tax advantages to having a big heart. Did you know that in addition to donated funds and goods,  some of your volunteer work-related expenses may be tax deductible?

Making Sure You’re Getting the Most of Your Volunteer Work

Before you start keeping tabs on your expenses, check to see if the organization is a qualified charitable organization and recognized by the IRS. While you can still do plenty of good work, the organization does have to meet certain qualifications in order for you to get the tax benefits.

Once you verify the organization is qualified, here are a few major tax-deductible expenses :

• Transportation/Travel: If you have to drive or take public transportation for your volunteer work, that may be tax deductible. You can either keep meticulous track of your gas spending driving back and forth to where you’re volunteering, or you can use the $0.14 per mile allowed by the IRS. If you have to pay for parking and it’s related to your volunteer work, you may be able to deduct that too. Your regular car maintenance and insurance coverage, however, are not tax deductible when volunteering.
• Uniforms: If you are required to wear a uniform for the volunteer work, you may be able to deduct that purchase as well as its upkeep. However, it also must not be something you can use every day (think of a t-shirt with a logo).
• Supplies: If you are providing supplies (maybe office paper and printer ink for the organization’s reports or construction material for a building project), then you may be able to claim them. Just make sure they are exclusively used for the charity.

It is important to note that if you get reimbursed from the organization for any of your expenses, you can not take a tax deduction. In addition, in order to claim these tax deductions, you need to itemize your deductions. And, like with any tax deduction, always keep good records!

Don’t worry about knowing these tax deductions. No matter what moves you made last year, TurboTax will make them count on your taxes. Whether you want to do your taxes yourself or have a TurboTax expert file for you, we’ll make sure you get every dollar you deserve and your biggest possible refund – guaranteed. 

I’d love to hear from you. What causes are near and dear to your heart? How did you get started?