Charitable Donation

[ddhuntley16]

We drove about 2,000 miles to volunteer at a mission organization and paid to stay in their housing for 2 wks.  Can we deduct the mileage and housing cost as a charitable deduction?

[jkellett2]

Generally, you can claim a charitable contribution deduction for travel expenses necessarily incurred while you are away from home performing services for a charitable organization only if there is no significant element of personal pleasure, recreation, or vacation in the travel.  Deductible travel 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. 

The charitable mileage rate for 2022 is 14 cents per mile.