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A tax deduction for volunteering?

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Posted on Apr 15th, 2010
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The value of the volunteer hour rose in 2009 to $20.85, according to a study just released.  Think of the millions of hours people volunteered last year and we’re  .  .  . talking about an enormous donation to nonprofits across the country.  So we can’t help but wonder, especially on April 15 every year, why don’t individuals get a tax deduction for volunteering?  Afterall, you get a tax deduction for donating money. And if an hour of your volunteer time is worth $20.85, why not get a deduction for this type of charitable giving too?  Try this:  Find out just how much your volunteer time was worth in your state last year (click here) and multiply it by the hours you volunteered last year. Hmm… what do you think?

  • TaxAttorney

    Volunteers get exactly the same tax treatment as any other charitable donation. Let’s say you are choosing between a) working for an hour, then donating your salary to charity or b) volunteering for an hour. If you work for an hour to earn $20.85, then donate it to a charity, you will pay zero additional taxes (because the deduction cancels out the extra wages). If you volunteer for an hour, providing $20.85 of services, you will also pay zero additional taxes. Any additional deduction would be double-counting for volunteering. This would skew the incentives towards volunteering instead of donating. Given the nature of this site, you may approve of this result, but policymakers favor equal treatment.

  • Vicki

    It should absolutely be a tax deduction. The volunteer gets a much-needed financial break and it would encourage more people to volunteer – it’s a win-win!!

 


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