The Issue
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.
Legislation in the 111th Congress
Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) introduced S. 243, the Giving Incentives to Volunteers Everywhere (GIVE) Act of 2009 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.
Background
The IRS on November 21, 2012 announced the standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, medical/moving, and charitable purposes for 2013. The rates are:
- 56.5 cents per mile for business miles driven; up from 55.5 cents
- 24 cents per mile for medical/moving purposes; up from 23 cents
- 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations
