Money

In some cases, you can deduct out-of-pocket expenses related to services you provide to a qualified organization. To be deductible, these expenses must be:

unreimbursed,
directly connected to the service you provide,
have only occurred because of the service you provide
and not been your own personal or living expenses.

One complex aspect of this deduction is that the IRS regulations state that you can deduct these expenses only "if there is no significant element of personal pleasure, recreation, or vacation" in performing these services. This does not mean you cannot enjoy providing the service for the charity, however, you must play a key role in providing the services.

When traveling for a charity where you are on duty in a substantial and genuine sense throughout the trip, expenses you pay for air, rail, bus, taxi or other transportation to and from your hotel are deductible. If you are receiving a travel allowance, expenses more than the allowance are deductible, but if you don't spend all of the allowance on deductible travel expenses, you must include that part of the allowance in income.