It’s that time of year again. We are all perusing our checkbooks looking for tax deductions. When it comes to deductible charitable contributions, it’s not always just the check records you need, particularly if you are involved in volunteering your time with nonprofit organizations. Here is a refresher course on what are deductible charitable contributions and outright gifts to an organization.

Organizations that Qualify

Just because an institution is a nonprofit organization, it doesn’t mean that your contributions are tax deductible. Generally, only the following types of organizations qualify: those organized and operated only for charitable, religious, scientific, literary, or education purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals. These are referred to as 501(c)(3) organizations by the IRS. In certain situations, contributions to nonprofits such as war veterans organizations, domestic fraternal societies, and certain nonprofit cemetery companies may qualify as deductible if the contribution is to be used solely for charitable, religious, scientific, literary, or educational purposes or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals. Contributions to the United States and political subdivisions are deductible if it is to be used for public purposes.

Unreimbursed Expenses

If you volunteer your services to a qualified organization and have unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses related to those services, these expenses may help lower your taxes if you itemize deductions. Here are some guidelines to follow:

• Ask the organization about its tax-exempt status. You can also check online at IRS.gov to see if the organization is qualified.
• Although you can deduct unreimbursed expenses as a volunteer, you cannot deduct the value of your time or services provided.
• There must not be any significant element of personal pleasure or recreation incurred from these expenses.
• You cannot deduct the expenses if you only have nominal duties or do not have any duties for a significant part of the volunteering.

Deductible expenses include travel and transportation expenses, lodging, and cost of meals. For automobile expenses, you can use the standard mileage for charitable work, which is 14 cents per mile as set by statute (Sec. 170(i)).

These expenses are only deductible as itemized deductions and can be reported on line 16 or 17 of Schedule A of Form 1040.

Records

You must have adequate records to prove the amount of expenses. Whether or not your records are considered reliable depends on all the facts and circumstances. Generally, they may be considered reliable if you made them regularly and at or near the time that you incurred the expenses. If any of your unreimbursed expenses considered separately and are $250 or more, you must get an acknowledgement from the qualified organization that contains the following:

• A description of the services you provided
• A statement of whether or not the organization provided you any goods or services to reimburse you for the expenses you incurred
• A description and good faith estimate of the value of any goods or services (other than intangible religious benefits) provided to reimburse you
• A statement that the only benefit you received was an intangible benefit, if that was the case. The acknowledgement does not need to describe or estimate the value of an intangible benefit.

You must get the acknowledgement on or before the earlier of the date your file your return for the year you make the contribution or the date, including extensions, for filing the return.