| Charitable Contributions / Contributing services to charity |  |
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Although no tax deduction is allowed
for the value of services you perform for a charitable organization,
some deductions are permitted for out-of-pocket costs you incur while
performing the services (subject to the deduction limit that generally
applies to charitable contributions). Away-from-home travel expenses
while performing services for a charity aren't deductible, however, if
there's a significant element of personal pleasure associated with the
travel. And if your services for a charity involve lobbying activities,
no deduction is permitted. If you use your car while performing services for a charitable
organization you may deduct your actual unreimbursed expenses directly
attributable to the services, such as gas and oil costs. Alternatively,
you may deduct a flat 14 cents per mile for charitable use of your car.
In either event, you may also deduct parking fees and tolls. You will want to keep track of your expenses, the services you
were performing and when you performed them, and the organization for
which you performed the services. You should retain receipts, canceled
checks, and other reliable written records relating to the services and
expenses. No charitable deduction is allowed for a contribution of $250 or more unless you substantiate the contribution by a written acknowledgment from the charitable organization. The acknowledgment generally must include the amount of cash and a description of any property contributed. This would present a problem for out-of-pocket expenses incurred in the course of providing charitable services, because the charitable organization wouldn't know how much those expenses were. However, you can satisfy this requirement if you have adequate records to substantiate the amount of your expenditures, and get a statement from the organization that contains a description of the services you provided, the date the services were provided, a statement of whether the organization provided any goods or services in return (and a description and good-faith estimate of the value of those goods or services). You must get this statement by the time you file your tax return for the year of the contribution (or by the return date if you file a late return). |
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