Can you deduct expenses as a volunteer?
Some, if you itemize. What you spend only because you volunteer, and aren’t paid back for, counts: a uniform you can’t wear elsewhere, travel when you are on duty, supplies. Your time and childcare don’t.
The rule
A cost counts when it is unreimbursed, directly connected with the work, something you had only because you volunteered, and not a personal or family expense.
A uniform counts, with its cleaning, when you must wear it to volunteer and it isn’t suitable for everyday wear.
Travel away from home counts, including lodging and meals, only when you are genuinely on duty throughout. A scout leader running a camping trip can deduct it; a volunteer on a dig who works a few hours each morning and sightsees the rest of the day can’t.
Meals while you volunteer near home are personal, and so is a babysitter while you volunteer.
- Without itemizing
- Not settled by the IRS yet
- If you itemize
- What you spent
- What to keep
- Receipts for what you spent, a note of what it was for, and the charity’s acknowledgment for $250 or more.
- Watch for
- Costs of $250 or more in one go, such as a flight, need the charity’s acknowledgment of the services you gave.
- Whether out-of-pocket costs count toward the $1,000 deduction without itemizing, the IRS hasn’t said yet.
Checked on October 2, 2026 against Publication 526, Charitable Contributions. An estimate for your records, not tax advice.
Federal tax only. States set their own rules for gifts.
Keep every gift with its receipt.
From 2026, up to $1,000 of cash gifts counts even without itemizing. Reimburse keeps each gift with the charity’s receipt, asks for the paper the IRS wants, and shows what it puts back.