Calling All Volunteers: Did you know that your volunteer time could be tax deductible?

It’s a New Year and what a better way to spend the year new year than by saving a few bucks?  You may not give big dollars or throw a big fundraising soirée but your volunteer time is valuable to us too.

During this season of giving, we want to let you know how much the giving of your time means to us. Time is such a precious gift, and through the time taken out of your busy schedule, time away from family or friends, you are impacting the lives of our families. As a small way to say thank you, we wanted to share the ways to deduct certain volunteer expenses on your tax returns this year.

Here are a couple of items that the IRS allows volunteers at a nonprofit to deduct from their taxable income (These can be verified through the volunteer coordinator of Easter Seals Florida):

Car and transportation expenses

This includes expenses such as, but not limited to, back and forth from home to office, meetings, or events. This can be recorded as actual gas used or by keeping track of the mileage at the rate of 14 cent per mile.

Travel expenses

This includes expenses such as, but not limited to, airfare, other transportation, accommodations, and meals when preforming services away from home.

Other: Out-of-pocket expenses

Includes expenses such as, but not limited to, supplies for arts and crafts, new books purchased, printed materials for activities, background screening (unreimbursed), etc.

For more information on the limitations of tax deductions please visit, http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/remind-nonprofit-volunteers-tax-deductions-29659.html.

If you would like more information about volunteerism at your local Easter Seals please visit www.fl.easterseals.com/volunteering. Can’t wait to hear how much you saved this year. #SavingBig #TaxBreak