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How Volunteering Can Create Charitable Tax Deductions

Why volunteer? Someone once said that volunteering is like feeding the soul. They would be right: there is nothing quite like the feeling of helping others to feed the soul, renew the spirit, and feel like a truly useful human being. While volunteering is something that is done by folks to do good in the world and to garner self confidence and experience in the world, did you know that the IRS can reward you for your volunteer work as well? Volunteering can create certain charitable tax deductions that you may not be aware of. Here is a brief overview over what you need to make sure that you are getting the right charitable tax deductions for your volunteer work.

In general, volunteer work does not generate any kind of charitable tax deduction that you can claim. Volunteer time is just that: time that you volunteer to a worthy cause or your favorite charity to help those around you and to gain personal experience and fortitude in making a difference in the outer world. The time or services that you provide as a volunteer are not deductible. After all, volunteer work itself is not like a job. You don’t really have to be there—which is the point of volunteering, after all—and thus a monetary value cannot be readily assigned to the time you spend as a volunteer. When it comes to the hours you spend as a volunteer, think of them as priceless.

Also, you should know that any direct contributions you make to a need individual or organization are not automatically deductible on your next income tax. In order to be able to deduct contributions on your next income tax form, you must contribute to an organization that is acknowledged by the Internal Revenue Service. So, no matter how much you voluntarily donate to a needy person, you will not be able to claim this as a deduction on your next income tax form because the Internal Revenue Service does not officially recognize them.

That said, there are several charitable tax deductions that you can make on your next income tax form by virtue of your volunteer work. Although you cannot deduct the time spent as a volunteer, you can certainly deduct any real expenses that are associated with that volunteer work. The Internal Revenue Service states that volunteer workers can deduct any amount of un-reimbursed mileage and other travel expenses that were accrued directly as a result of your volunteer experience.

Say that you have worked as a volunteer by taking groups of children on outings, or perhaps delivering meals to the homebound, but you were never reimbursed for your gas mileage. This is the type of charitable tax deduction that you can make as a volunteer worker. There are two basic ways to claim your charitable tax deduction in this scenario. You can either get a tax deduction by claiming the approximate direct expenses that you used, such as the gas and oil that you spent during your volunteer work. If you do not want to do the math or use the direct expense method, you can also claim a deduction using the standard mileage rate. The standard mileage rate, as of 2007, is 14 cents a mile.

If you do a lot of driving as a result of your volunteer work, there are also other charitable tax deductions that you can make. These include the amount you spent on parking fees, road tolls, bus fares, cab fares, and any other real driving expenses accrued.

If you plan on making any of these charitable tax deductions related to your volunteer work, it is important that you keep good records. Save all receipts, and information regarding the charitable organization you have been volunteering with.