PotKorn
St. Louis, MO
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There's not much available in the form of deductions for volunteering. From the U.S. Treasury website:
Quote:Q: There is much talk about encouraging people to volunteer their time to help organizations that provide community services. Shouldn't people who do volunteer work be provided with a tax deduction to compensate them for their donation?
A: Under current law, volunteers are prohibited from taking a charitable contribution deduction for the value of the services they provided to charities. However, the tax code does support volunteer work for charitable organizations by allowing volunteers to take a charitable contribution deduction for expenses they incur in connection with their volunteer services, but the expenses must be ones the charity would otherwise have to incur, not personal expenses of the volunteer. For example, volunteers may deduct the cost of materials they donate for use in repairs to a church, supplies they use in leading activities at a day care center, or uniforms they wear when serving as nurses' aides. However, volunteers may not deduct personal expenses such as meals eaten during a break in a local service project, transportation to and from a school where they donate their time, or child care expenses.
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WTTCS
freedom , U.S.A.
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Joined: 07/28/2003
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I know I will get burned or deleted with this but..............
If you volunteer , as stated , 30 hours a week for a FREE site, just how the heck do you figure it is free?
Whats the minimum wage in Calif 8.00 bucks an hour? Geez , you are volunteering 1000.00 plus a month to be a host?
I know I know, you dont do it for the money. Would you not be better off paying for the site and working for chump change?
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wandering mike
Texas Gulf coast
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WTTCS, I agree with you, but only in part. If a person considers the effort involved as "working for a site" and for which one is really counting the committed hours as a burden to be shouldered rather than truly volunteering to help out an organization with a side benefit (to both sides) of getting a site without charge close by where they perform the services, then yes, the person probably in most cases should get a compensated job of some kind, depending on the effort involved and the person's skills and physical capacity.
It is sort of like say, Habitat for Humanity. Many people would say, "why should I go help out some group/person by helping build a house in exchange for a meal at lunch? I can just get a job or make something to sell and buy my own lunch." If the person is focused on lunch, get the job. If the person is focused on helping the group, then they may wish to volunteer. If a person allows life to be translated only into money and what it can buy on a personal, material level, the concept of volunteering is more difficult for them to get their arms around.
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JJnLilly
Ohio
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Amen to your comments, wandering mike!! Your last sentence says it all.
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DianneOK
Donnelly, ID
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I agree Mike, you said it well. Terry and I have volunteered in various capacities all our lives and we will continue to do it. Money is not the be all and end all...tho, right now it seems to be 
Dianne
Donnelly, ID
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ginabas
ohio
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Good comment Mike.....some folks will always have a problem with doing good for other people. Too many have the "me me" atitude.
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Roland H.
McIntosh, FL
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Quote:Posted By: DianneOK on 10/10/08 08:42pm
At none of our volunteer positions have we been able to write off "things".
Quote:Posted By: PotKorn on 10/10/08 11:21pm
There's not much available in the form of deductions for volunteering.
To those who asked "What Things", I suggest that you talk to a tax professional. "IRS Publication 526, Out-of-Pocket Expenses in Giving Services, Car expenses",indicates that you may deduct the incurred costs to and from the place that you donate your services. This is gas and oil -- not general maintenance or repair.
From Florida to Wyoming and return ( diesel fuel actual cost at 8 mpg.) this is one hell of a deduction(Thing). This would also include your overnight site rentals along the way.
An "RV" forum is probably not the best source to base a tax decision on.
Check it out!!!
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Horsedoc
Dixie --- N. Georgia
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Well said Mike!! It is not about the value of the site. This 'cost' is not money out of our pocket, so it is money we never had to begin with. What would it cost to stay for three months at a location with beautiful views, easy access to sites that others pay tremendous amounts of money to get to? And all I have to do is hang out around the CG for a few hours (I'll be doing that anyway) and collecting money and logging site assignments? We do not do toilets, but will unstop one in an emergency situation or perhaps sweep or mop a problem area in a shower house. What a 'work' deal all that is!!
If you go into a situation expecting to make enough to pay expenses, then you need a job, not a volunteer position. Part of our reasoning is being able to travel a few months each year at a minimum expense and have some fun meeting new people and maybe giving a little back to a country that has been so good to us.
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Jayco-noslide
Galesburg,Il., USA
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As previously stated, most of the host positions for government parks are more volunteer than pay. However, if you want paid positions there are plenty of those at differnt types of workamper positions. We have worked 6 summer seasons, always 40 hrs/week for each of us for a total of 80 hours; all hours paid at $7 to $8.50 per hour, then we pay the employer about $35-40 per week for the site they provide. None of these jobs were at campgrounds but all for retail businesses serving visitors to Yellowstone and Glacier Nat'l Parks. Check out Workamper News magazine to see the variety of positions available. But, probably easier to find in summer than winter.
Jayco-noslide
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Kirk
Livingston, Texas.
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rebeattie
There is some very good advice in the thread and some that is not so good. The fact is that we who volunteer do so because we love the things we do and the people that we get to know and we are mostly people who take great satisfaction in giving something back to our society. Some people just can't ever accept that it is worth anything and they are always first to grip about what they get from volunteers.
We have now completed 23 tours as volunteers living on site in our RV. We have done this for three federal agencies, six states, four counties, a state forestry dept., a fish & game department and a few other organizations. It has been a truly great experience and we expect to continue to do this for as long as we possibly can.
In a few cases there may be a small stipend, ours having been $10/day each for days worked and a few also have some extra things which you can do for pay. In one state park we were volunteer hosts but were paid to spend extra time operating lawn mowing equipment. But those were exceptions and we didn't make a great deal.
It is as Dianne said, very rare for a volunteer to be able to legally deduct anything from their taxes due to volunteering. There are those who do and many get away with it, but should they ever get audited,............ I have done a lot of digging into the IRS rules and there just isn't much there. But at the same time, IRS regulations do exempt the volunteer from any tax liability for the value of the RV site, utilities and any other amenities. In our case, not only have we had a wonderful life, but also many experiences that few people could ever have in any other way. Let me invite you to look through our website, found in my signature, to get some feel for the kind of things that we have done.
Do not underestimate the value of the RV site, utilities and other amenities and courtesies that we who volunteer have. Those who refuse to do anything unless they receive some monetary value for each and every moment of time spent will go though life with no hint of the wonders that we who volunteer experience. And when it comes to the effect on your budget, I suggest you look at ours which we publish and notice the amount that we spend on RV sites and utilities. We rarely pay for more than 60 nights in the course of a year on the road.
* This post was
edited 10/12/08 08:02pm by an administrator/moderator *
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