Move out of state to volunteer at church

[Kham]

I am self employed and can handle most of my work from my home via phone and internet.  Last year I decided to move from Virginia to South Carolina to volunteer (non-paid) at a church.  Can I deduct my moving expenses and on-going living expenses (rent, utilities, food, etc) while I continue to volunteer at this out of state church.

I maintained my Virginia residency.

[LeonardS]

No, South Carolina is considered your tax home and you can not deduct ongoing expenses while you volunteer at the church.  Moving expenses are not deductible for tax years 2018 - 2025 if was eliminated by the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017.

[Kham]

Thanks, but I failed to mention some factors that Virginia will use to insist that I pay Virginia taxes and not South Carolina.  My LLC is registered with Virginia, my home is still in virginia, my vehicle and drivers license are also Virginia.  So, if Virginia remains my tax home, would I be able to take charitable deductions related to miles to and around South Carolina, rental and living expenses?

[ColeenD3]

You can't have it both ways. In your first post, you said you moved to SC. Then you said, no, your home is still VA.

 It sounds like you are manipulating the situation to be able to rent a home in SC for free. How much volunteering do you do? I'm sure there are many churches in VA where you could volunteer. I'm looking at this from a perspective that might approach that of an auditor.

The rules for charitable travel are outlined in this LINK.

[Kham]

I didn't intend to use the word "moved" as a legal term of art.  I am not certain I will stay in SC, and thus I retain all my VA connections.  My family and I have known the pastor of the SC church for years.  He is the son of the retired VA pastor whose church I attended growing up.  I have felt a calling to pursue some sort of ministry, and the SC pastor offered to mentor me through my journey seeking whether or not I should go full time into ministry.   This is the ONLY reason I went to SC.   So I am volunteering through this time helping them with outreach, expansion via social media, as well as helping with maintenance and church business meetings.  While I am in SC, I have been able maintain my LCC work for  clients (all non-SC if that matters) via phone, internet and some meetings in Virginia and other parts of the country.      So are you suggesting that the volunteer expenses (if allowed at all) should be prorated based upon time I work for my clients and time I spend volunteering for the church?

[LeonardS]

No, you can not deduct the ongoing expenses while you are in your tax home.  

"...Generally, your tax home is the entire city or general area where your main place of business or work is located, regardless of where you maintain your family home. " Ref : https://Topic No. 511 Business Travel Expenses

@Kham

[Kham]

No, I am definitely domiciled in Virginia.  This article Residency Income Tax Requirements | Determining Domiciles (keitercpa.com), by Terry Barrett, CPA, Senior Tax Manager for Keiter, a Virginia accounting firm, confirms my point earlier that my taxes are due to Virginia.  I’m domiciled in Virginia given my business address, home address, Virginia drivers license and vehicle registration, etc.  And Coleen D3, you can see Virginia revenue department is not "moved" by use of the term "moved". 

Should I be posting my question in a different Turbo Tax subject section?  I haven't posted questions that often over the years and so I'm not familiar with whether or not I'm in the wrong section here.

[FangxiaL]

There is no moving expense deduction available unless you are an active-duty military member. If the move and related expenses had nothing to do with your self-employment income, I don't see how you can justify the deductions you want to claim on your taxes. 

@Kham

[Kham]

Yes, I think I finally see the problem here...the tax expert section to which I submitted my original question should have instead been directed at charitable giving section, if Turbo Tax has one.   I guess I muddied the waters by mentioning that I can conduct my self employment business from anywhere that has phone and internet service, but I didn't think I had any business deductions related to the move to SC.

Miles driven for charitable organizations provides a standard deduction of 14 cents per mile.  My original question was - as a Virginian - are there deductions such as mileage from Virginia to South Carolina for which I'm eligible.  Are there other expenses such as housing and living expenses allowed for the time I am volunteering at the SC church?

[RobertB4444 · Accepted solution]

Here is the IRS rules on travel deductions for charitable purposes-

Travel.

Generally, you can claim a charitable contribution deduction for travel expenses necessarily incurred while you are away from home performing services for a qualified organization only if there is no significant element of personal pleasure, recreation, or vacation in the travel. This applies whether you pay the expenses directly or indirectly. You are paying the expenses indirectly if you make a payment to the qualified organization and the organization pays for your travel expenses.

The deduction for travel expenses won't be denied simply because you enjoy providing services to the qualified organization. Even if you enjoy the trip, you can take a charitable contribution deduction for your travel expenses if you are on duty in a genuine and substantial sense throughout the trip. However, if you have only nominal duties, or if for significant parts of the trip you don't have any duties, you can't deduct your travel expenses.

Example 1.

You are a troop leader for a tax-exempt youth group and you take the group on a camping trip. You are responsible for overseeing the setup of the camp and for providing adult supervision for other activities during the entire trip. You participate in the activities of the group and enjoy your time with them. You oversee the breaking of camp and you transport the group home. You can deduct your travel expenses.

Example 2.

You sail from one island to another and spend 8 hours a day counting whales and other forms of marine life. The project is sponsored by a qualified organization. In most circumstances, you can't deduct your expenses.

Example 3.

You work for several hours each morning on an archeological dig sponsored by a qualified organization. The rest of the day is free for recreation and sightseeing. You can't take a charitable contribution deduction even though you work very hard during those few hours.

Example 4.

You spend the entire day attending a qualified organization's regional meeting as a chosen representative. In the evening you go to the theater. You can claim your travel expenses as charitable contributions, but you can't claim the cost of your evening at the theater.

Daily allowance (per diem).

If you provide services for a qualified organization and receive a daily allowance to cover reasonable travel expenses, including meals and lodging while away from home overnight, you must include in income any part of the allowance that is more than your deductible travel expenses. You may be able to deduct any necessary travel expenses that are more than the allowance.

Deductible travel expenses.

These include:

Air, rail, and bus transportation;

Out-of-pocket expenses for your car;

Taxi fares or other costs of transportation between the airport or station and your hotel;

Lodging costs; and

The cost of meals.

Because these travel expenses aren't business-related, they aren't subject to the same limits as business-related expenses. For information on business travel expenses, see Travel in Pub. 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses.