Donations

[rjaytib]

My wife is a devotee of a 503C organization.  She is required to have a secure site for all record storage.  

She also uses a an internet connected computer and WI-FI for three to four hours per day; sometimes more.  Is it possible to somehow deduct telecommunication costs (phone), security expenses (like ADT)  and internet charges (Verizon) ?  This, I believe, would be subject to the 3% AGI rule.  and if so, how would I report this.  I also assist as much as is humanly possible for a male (HaHa).  

[JohnB5677]

No, If she is a W-2 employee she cannot.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act disallows the work related expense deduction for tax years 2018-2025.

For returns filed before tax year 2018, employees can deduct any unreimbursed expenses that exceed 2% of their adjusted gross income. 

[rjaytib]

She is not a W-2 employee. she receives no remuneration.  She is strictly a volunteer.

[KatrinaB48 · Accepted solution]

Volunteer travel and expenses can be claimed as a Schedule A, Itemized Deduction. You can claim any out of pocket expenses directly related to the volunteer work. Please view this TurboTax FAQ for more information about what expense to claim.

You have two options for entering your charitable deductions:

1. Enter your charitable donations in our free ItsDeductible program which is available year-round. When tax time comes, simply import your donations from ItsDeductible into TurboTax.
2. Manually enter your charitable donations directly into TurboTax:
   1. Open your return in TurboTax.
   2. In the search box, search for donations and then select the Jump to link in the search results.
   3. Answer Yes to Do you want to enter your donations for 2019?
   4. Follow the instructions to enter your donations.

[rjaytib]

Thank you Katrina for the prompt response.  I've used its deductible for at least 5 years.  There is nothing better out there for capturing donation data.  I'm thinking that I could enter my total values for internet access (ie 2713.00), phone (3072.00) and security (932.00) in the same way that I insert a value for Goodwill or Salvation Army.  Any thoughts are appreciated.

[rjaytib]

Another thought:  I could reduce the amount claimed by 50% for each of the three items because we occasionally use those things for personal tasks.

[ThomasM125 · Accepted solution]

If the expenses are necessary for the charity work they may be allowable. However, it is unusual to deduct home office type expenses for charity work, so I would suggest you maintain accurate documentation to support the deductions claimed.

Also, it will be an audit trigger to deduct these type of expenses as charitable contributions, so you should make sure your return can withstand the scrutiny of an audit.