[Noisebridge-discuss] Electron Microscope

[Ceren Ercen]

Sai Emrys wrote:
>> can I count the hours I drove lugging Noisebridge crap from my federal
>> taxes? Hm...
> 
> Yes, you can (TTBOMIK) tax-deductibly donate professional services. At
> fair market rates (as judged by the donator and their IRS auditor -
> which is why NB should never be making such determinations :-P).
> 
> Would you? Not typically for something that mundane / unprofessional.
> I've only ever seen it done for someone's actual professional-life
> services.
> 
> - Sai

I've seen it in other non-profits, especially ones that are less 
hobby-oriented. A lot of educational nonprofits haul things around and 
the people doing so simply can't afford to just throw in the money spent 
on gas and car maintenance, but believe strongly in the nonprofit's cause.

http://www.nonprofitfundraisingblog.com/2008/04/tax-deduction-advice-for-your.html

A lot of people aren't as... personally well funded as many of our 
individuals are. That didn't stop them from being there for the beach 
trash cleanup days down in Tampa.

Copied/Pasted, and take this with a grain of salt, as well considering 
what's reasonable to apply to Noisebridge's situation.

"    * Car and transportation expenses. Volunteers might need to get 
back and forth from home to your office, or to meetings or other sites 
(such as a special event or to deliver food to a homebound AIDS 
patient). If driving, they can choose between deducting gas and oil, or 
mileage at the standard rate of 14 cents per mile. As Stephen Fishman 
advises in Lower Taxes in 7 Easy Steps, however, "Given the cost of 
gasoline today, the 14 cent per mile limit is absurdly low, so you'd be 
better off keeping track of your actual driving expenses." Volunteers 
can also add in parking fees and tolls. But they can't claim general car 
repair and maintenance expenses, depreciation, registration fees, or the 
costs of tires or insurance. The public transport-minded can, of course, 
deduct subway, bus, or taxi fare.

     * Travel expenses. In cases where the volunteer is away from home 
performing services -- perhaps attending a convention or board meeting, 
taking underprivileged kids on a camping trip, or monitoring 
environmental destruction -- they can deduct their related expenses, 
such as airfare and other transportation, accommodations, and meals. 
However, there are important limitations on this one: The volunteer must 
gain no significant personal pleasure, recreation, or vacation in the 
travel. (Going on a fun trip and refusing to enjoy it probably won't 
make it deductible, either.) And the volunteer must really be working -- 
tagging along on an outing while performing nominal duties, or even no 
duties for significant parts of the trip, won't cut it.

     * Other out-of-pocket expenses. For example, board members might 
deduct unreimbursed phone, postage, and copying charges associated with 
preparing for meetings. I can deduct the dog treats that I'm asked to 
provide in order to help train dogs while walking them.

     * The aforementioned uniforms. This includes both their cost and 
their upkeep, so long as they're not suitable for everyday use (i.e. a 
T-shirt with a logo won't fly). Also, your organization must require the 
volunteers to wear the uniforms while performing services.


Some limitations apply to all deductions associated with volunteering. 
Volunteers must be itemizing their deductions to take advantage of this 
(so people who fill out a 1040EZ won't get any benefit). Volunteers 
cannot double-dip by claiming expenses for which the nonprofit already 
reimbursed them. The expenses must be directly related to the 
volunteers' work, and incurred only because of that work. "