Current law allows charities to reimburse volunteers, on a nontaxable basis only, up to the charitable mileage rate of 14 cents per mile. Alternatively, volunteers are permitted to deduct their “out of pocket” expenses incurred in providing donated services — when those expenses are not reimbursed.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has the authority to regulate volunteer mileage rates for business and medical/moving purposes, but not for charitable activities. The charitable rate can only be adjusted through legislation, and has remained unchanged since 1997.
Status
The IRS on June 23, 2011 announced a mid-year increase to the standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, medical/moving, and charitable purposes for 2011. The new rates are:
- 55.5 cents per mile for business miles driven; up from 51 cents
- 23.5 cents per mile for medical/moving purposes; up from 19 cents
- 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations
Legislation in the 112th Congress
Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) is preparing to reintroduce the Giving Incentives to Volunteers Everywhere (GIVE) Act to address the inequities between the charitable rate and those for business and medical/moving purposes.
The GIVE Act would:
- Exempt from a volunteer’s taxable income any reimbursement by a charity for mileage up to the business rate;
- Give the Treasury Department authority to change the volunteer mileage deduction rate, which has been fixed in statute at 14 cents per mile since 1997; and
- Raise the volunteer mileage deduction immediately to the medical/moving rate and ensure it doesn't fall below that rate in the future.
