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My employer has programs to recognize volunteer/community work. I need a paper trail to back my claims of volunteer work.
Does the Organized Play Foundation encompass the VAs across the globe? Is there a VA task/responsibility summary that references the OPF instead of Paizo? Anything else I can point to make an audit of my volunteer claims easy?
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Somehow I put a spelling error in my link, here is the long to the current VA tasks/responsibility summary.
Organized Play Developer
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I think you are joking, but to be perfectly clear. I'm not looking for something that verifies the hours volunteered but something that validates volunteering as a VA as time spent volunteering for a not-for-profit.
Just as a heads-up, we're looking into finding you an answer for this, but Tonya is the person best equipped to answer it and she's out of the office most of this week. It may be a bit before we have an answer for you.
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The OPF is a registered charity so it’s just a matter of getting the tax ID#. Whether or not your time or money can be deducted is a question for your tax professional. If you are a VO, you should have digitally signed the volunteer agreement online. Printing that should be proof of your volunteer activities.
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Ya, Their first question was is there a tax ID#. I'm not sure if their accountant requires the tax ID, or that is just what they use as a filter/litmus test.
I completely forgot about that VO agreement. That looks like it should work well.
The full story is the this employer weighs in community involvement and volunteer work when calculating annual bonuses; the better I can demonstrate the merits and legitimacy of this, the less doubts they have. Trying to connect what we do at the local level to that awesome blurb on the OPF website.
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Venture-Captain, Missouri—Columbia
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I did not realize it was a charity. Great! I'm still waiting on my VO application to do something at Paizo, so I haven't seen the volunteer agreement yet.
I also highly suggest seeing a tax professional when it comes to tax issues involving non-profits and or volunteering. This is one of the areas the can potentially trigger an audit or cause problems when audited because people don't understand the rules on this area.
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I think you are joking, but to be perfectly clear. I'm not looking for something that verifies the hours volunteered but something that validates volunteering as a VA as time spent volunteering for a not-for-profit.
I actually wasn't joking. In your original post you said you needed a "paper trail". The first thing that popped into my head was an image of the hundreds of chronicle sheets poking out fom my various folders. If that's not a paper trail, then I don't know what is.
This is interesting, though. Can U.S. citizens get a tax break or credit for participating in PFS?
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Note that while I am a U.S. tax professional the following should not be relied upon as tax advice, and is particurally useless if you're not in the US.
The short answer is no.
money or property you make to, or for the use of, a qualified organization. A contribution is “for the use of” a qualified organization when it is held in a legally enforceable trust for the qualified organization or in a similar legal arrangement. "
If you're giving money/property to the OPF specifically you may be able to deduct that value (minus the value of any benefits received, and other restrictions may apply)
Your time etc is not deductible.
If you are in charge of a convention, and don't play at all I think there's an argument for some of your unreimbursed expenses being deductible. It's a complicated enough question though that I'd charge $65/hr to research the rules further for a client's particular circumstances.
See IRS Pub 526 Charitable Contributions for more details.
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So I get these questions all the time by the nature of SCARAB and the frequent amount of charity work we do. I will answer to the best of my ability and also add to Pirate Bob's and Xathos of Varisia's comments and say - if you feel you have that much in contributions that it may be worth deducting you should hire a TAX PROFESSIONAL to assist and make sure you aren't setting yourself up for trouble with the IRS.
The expenses you incur volunteering may provide a tax deduction. In order for you to qualify there are three simple things you need to check off first before you go any further; the amount you are planning to deduct must directly relate to the charity where you volunteer. In addition, you must not have been reimbursed for those expenses. Lastly, you must also itemize when filing your taxes.
Most important one of these and the one that catches most people I respond to is: You may NOT deduct any charitable contributions if you got something in return. The IRS will deny you for any little thing! So this is SUPER important to remember: Receiving a GM boon, t-shirt, hotel room, free badge = reimbursement.
By IRS definition, charitable contributions represent gifts given without reciprocity. Supporting a charitable organization by buying merchandise or attending an event puts you into the got-something-in-return category.
You've gotten past those three? Then you may want to think about exploring claiming your deduction. You say you make $250/hour so your time is worth a huge tax deduction right?
So now for more bad news: Time spent volunteering in NOT tax deductible. Sadly, no. You cannot deduct your time regardless of how valuable it may be.
Pirate Bob has provided great advice - See IRS Pub 526 Charitable Contributions for more details. But if you don't get through the three checks you are possibly wasting your time.
If anyone has any more advice or information I would certainly appreciate more information as I am always looking for ways to keep more of my money from going to the government so I can use it the way I choose as opposed to letting politicians decide how it gets spent.
Best of luck in your efforts.
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The other big-ticket item people often want to deduct is their travel costs - going to a convention or driving to game days. Unfortunately the IRS has something to say about that, too.
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.