How to Donate Your Time and Get a Tax Break
- 1). Drive to your charity of choice. You can deduct the gas and oil costs of driving to and from your volunteer job. If you volunteer for a charity that needs transporters, such as driving cats to an adoption fair site, then you can deduct those costs as well. You will need to keep accurate records of the actual gas and oil costs for these trips or you can simply deduct 14 cents per mile. You cannot deduct any other car maintenance or repairs as a part of volunteer work.
- 2). Purchased uniforms that are required to do your volunteer job are tax deductible. You can also deduct the cost of cleaning the uniforms. Uniforms only qualify if you cannot and do not wear them outside of volunteering.
- 3). Volunteer for a mentoring youth program where you serve as a mentor and you can deduct any expenses paid for the youth to attend an event with you. This can include items such as food or game tickets. Remember that you can only deduct expenses you paid for the youth. You cannot deduct your own meal and ticket expenses.
- 4). Travel for your volunteer job and you can deduct hotel, airfare, meals and taxi fare. If your organization requires that you travel for training or to do natural disaster work then the travel expense do give you a tax break, "if you are on duty in a genuine and substantial sense throughout the trip." If you add sightseeing and recreation to your trip then it would not be tax deductible.
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