Deductions for Volunteer Work

[duffer7673]

I volunteer for PGA golf tournaments.  When I volunteer, I am contacted by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, the charity that organizes the event.  The people I work for and report to are Monterey Peninsula Foundation personnel.   Are my meals, travel and lodging expenses deductible?

[JohnW152]

They may be, but be sure of your intentions in the travel.

You can't claim a charitable contribution deduction for travel expenses if there was a significant element of personal pleasure, recreation, or vacation in the travel.  See the TurboTax blog Deducting Travel Expenses When Doing Charitable Work and the TurboTax Help article Is volunteer work deductible? for more information.

Then, you need to be sure that the organization was a qualified charitable organization.  If you're not sure of the organization's charitable status, you can contact them directly, or use the IRS Exempt Organizations Lookup Tool. 

According to Deductible travel expenses in the IRS' Publication 526 (2022), Charitable Contributions, deductible expenses 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.

To enter charitable donation information in TurboTax Online:

1. Open TurboTax Online
2. Select Tax Home in the left pane
3. On the  Hi, let's keep working on your taxes! screen, select the dropdown on the right side of the Deductions & Credits box, then select Start, Continue, or Pick up where you left off
4. On the  Your tax breaks page, scroll down and select the dropdown to the right of Charitable Donations
5. Select  Start or Revisit to the right of Donations to Charity in 2023
6. Answer  Yes on the Donations page 
7. Continue through the following screens