Dance lessons for a charitable event

[ettefaghke]

I took Dance lessons for a charitable event for a recognized charity.  Can I deduct the expense of the lessons?  I took over 10 lessons to prepare for a performance at a charity fund raiser.

[KathrynG3]

No. Personal expenses would be offset by your personal benefit. For example, if you purchase a dinner for a fundraiser for $100, and the meal would have been $75 by itself, the only deductible portion is $25. 

Likewise, the benefit of learning to dance was defined as the cost of the lessons. Therefore, even though the cost was incurred for the performance at a charity fund raiser, the cost of the lessons themselves were not donated to the charity. Donations of your time are not deductible.

[ettefaghke]

Thank you.  Originally, I had though as you indicated, however, the dance studio sent me a compilation of my expenses for my "tax" purposes so I thought I would check.