Charitable Donations

[crouch-house]

I work for a 501(C)(3) nonprofit. Two years ago, I took a voluntary pay cut (which remains in effect) to help reduce our organization's expenses. Can I claim the difference (about $16,500 per year) as a donation to my own charity and use it as a deduction on my federal taxes? As I see it, I'm donating $16,500 worth of my time as an in-kind donation back to the company, but I'm not sure how the IRS views this.

[jerry2000 · Accepted solution]

No. That is not deductible. The value of your time is not deductible.
See IRS Pub. 526
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p526.pdf

[NewGuy]

No, you cannot claim income you didn't receive as a donation.  You also cannot claim your time as a charitable contribution.  This makes sense if you think about it, you would first have to claim it as income before you could seek a deduction for it.