Tax Deductions and Credits Deducting Travel Expenses When Doing Charitable Work Read the Article Open Share Drawer Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Written by Published Apr 16, 2012 - [Updated Jul 8, 2019] 2 min read If you’ve done any charitable work over the past year you’ve likely put in time and money toward the cause. But what if you had to travel in order to volunteer? Are travel expenses to a charitable event deductible? This is a good question and one many volunteers don’t think about. In some cases, yes, travel expenses related to volunteering can be deducted. But before you start adding up all the miles you should take a moment to understand what you can and can’t do. Charitable Travel First, you have to know whether or not the organization you volunteered for was a qualified organization. No matter what you gave, be it time or money, the IRS only allows you to deduct when it’s been given to a qualified organization. The good news is that most public and non-profit private organizations are qualified, but it is up to you to find out if you aren’t sure. Now when it comes to travel incurred while volunteering there are a few things to consider. First, the IRS says that generally you can claim a charitable contribution deduction for travel expenses necessarily incurred while you are away from home performing services for a charitable organization only if there is no significant element of personal pleasure, recreation, or vacation in the travel. The good news here is that most travel expenses will qualify, but keep in mind that you can’t turn one way of volunteering into a week-long vacation with the family and expect to write off all the airfare and lodging costs. Deductible Travel Expenses Most common expenses related to travel are allowed. Here is what the IRS defines as deductible travel expenses: Air, rail, and bus transportation, Out-of-pocket expenses for your car, Taxi fares or other costs of transportation between the airport or station and your hotel, Lodging costs, and The cost of meals. When it comes to using your own car for travel you can do one of two things. You may deduct the actual cost of gas used to get to and from the volunteer site, or you can deduct the IRS standard rate of 14 cents per mile. Unlike using your personal car for business, you cannot deduct expenses such as insurance, maintenance, or depreciation. As always, it pays to keep detailed records regarding all expenses related to the trip. You may need to substantiate your expenses so keep a log of the miles driven, keep all receipts for meals and lodging, tolls or parking, and anything else related to your time volunteering. Previous Post Making Work Pay Credit – What Is It and Can… Next Post Tax Records – The What, How, and How Long Should… Written by More from 42 responses to “Deducting Travel Expenses When Doing Charitable Work” « Older Comments Newer Comments » I am the director of a social organization that is recognized by the state of Ohio as an unincorporated not-for-profit organization. Can I claim expenses incurred while attending convention and trade shows in order to promote our organization? Reply I am a volunteer basketball coach and would like to deduct the mileage traveling to and from practices and games. I understand that the deduction is $.14 per mile but is it necessary for my deduction to be over 2% of my income to qualify or is it considered a charitable deduction which can be deducted normally? Reply I am planning on running the NYC Marathon as a fund raiser for an approved charity (JDRF). Are the travel & living expenses to the event deductible? Reply I’m a professional photographer and going on a mission trip to Mexico this year. Can I ask if I can be the mission organization’s photographer for the trip, and then deduct my expenses as business expenses? Reply I traveled in my motor home in while building for Habitat for Humanity how do I take the actual cost for vehicle expenses in turbotax. ? Reply Hi Chuck, In TurboTax, when you get to deductions, you will be asked if you donated to charity and you can include the miles driven to help with the charity. TurboTax will do the calculations for you. You can also put the details of your travel into TurboTax ItsDedcutible https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/itsdeductible/ and it will transfer the information to your tax return. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply Where in turbo tax do I enter expenses occurred while being a chaperon for a qualified charity? We flew to our destination, so mileage does not apply. Do I just put the lump sum of everything under the carity under ‘Mileage and Travel expenses’? There does not seem to be a way to itemize these. Reply My wife and I recently went on a trip abroad to scout out opportunities, locations and make local affiliations for our 501c3 mission group to take a mission trip. Although the purpose of the trip was ‘business’, we also did some recreational stuff, went to the beach one day, etc, We stayed at a nice hotel, so we were planning to not deduct that, but we did want to do our airfare. Is that still okay, even with the recreation? Also, he paid for the trip in 2014, but actually took it in 2015, which year can we deduct it? Reply I traveled to help teach a class out of town for five Saturdays. Do I count the mileage to/ from for .14/mile? Reply My daughter has been diagnosed with cancer this past year. I am helping with her home and health care. Can I deduct this. Reply Hi Joann, Yes, if you are able to claim her as a dependent. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply I travelled as an elected delegate to a religious conference. I know that I can deduct my expenses, but can I deduct expenses for my dependent children (age 18 & 20) if they were also elected delegates? Reply « Older Comments Newer Comments » Leave a ReplyCancel reply Browse Related Articles Tax Deductions and Credits Tax Tips if You Traveled for Charity Work This Summer Tax Deductions and Credits How Does Volunteering for a Charity Affect My Taxes? Tax Deductions and Credits Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Donations and Tax Deductions Tax Deductions and Credits Are You a PTA Parent? That Volunteering May Just Pay Off Tax Deductions and Credits Volunteering This Summer? 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I am the director of a social organization that is recognized by the state of Ohio as an unincorporated not-for-profit organization. Can I claim expenses incurred while attending convention and trade shows in order to promote our organization? Reply
I am a volunteer basketball coach and would like to deduct the mileage traveling to and from practices and games. I understand that the deduction is $.14 per mile but is it necessary for my deduction to be over 2% of my income to qualify or is it considered a charitable deduction which can be deducted normally? Reply
I am planning on running the NYC Marathon as a fund raiser for an approved charity (JDRF). Are the travel & living expenses to the event deductible? Reply
I’m a professional photographer and going on a mission trip to Mexico this year. Can I ask if I can be the mission organization’s photographer for the trip, and then deduct my expenses as business expenses? Reply
I traveled in my motor home in while building for Habitat for Humanity how do I take the actual cost for vehicle expenses in turbotax. ? Reply
Hi Chuck, In TurboTax, when you get to deductions, you will be asked if you donated to charity and you can include the miles driven to help with the charity. TurboTax will do the calculations for you. You can also put the details of your travel into TurboTax ItsDedcutible https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/itsdeductible/ and it will transfer the information to your tax return. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply
Where in turbo tax do I enter expenses occurred while being a chaperon for a qualified charity? We flew to our destination, so mileage does not apply. Do I just put the lump sum of everything under the carity under ‘Mileage and Travel expenses’? There does not seem to be a way to itemize these. Reply
My wife and I recently went on a trip abroad to scout out opportunities, locations and make local affiliations for our 501c3 mission group to take a mission trip. Although the purpose of the trip was ‘business’, we also did some recreational stuff, went to the beach one day, etc, We stayed at a nice hotel, so we were planning to not deduct that, but we did want to do our airfare. Is that still okay, even with the recreation? Also, he paid for the trip in 2014, but actually took it in 2015, which year can we deduct it? Reply
I traveled to help teach a class out of town for five Saturdays. Do I count the mileage to/ from for .14/mile? Reply
My daughter has been diagnosed with cancer this past year. I am helping with her home and health care. Can I deduct this. Reply
I travelled as an elected delegate to a religious conference. I know that I can deduct my expenses, but can I deduct expenses for my dependent children (age 18 & 20) if they were also elected delegates? Reply