Out-of-Pocket Expenses in Giving Services: Charitable Deductions (2025 IRS Guide)

This guide covers “Out-of-Pocket Expenses in Giving Services” within charitable deductions. The following material presents the IRS treatment of this topic, including the qualifications, exceptions, and examples in the source section. Read the rules alongside the facts of your own situation before deciding what to report, deduct, or document.

Adapted from Publication 526 (2025), Charitable Contributions, published by the Internal Revenue Service. This guide retains the source edition’s years, amounts, deadlines, and examples. It is guidance for that edition, not a statement that the same figures apply to every tax year.

Context for these rules

Generally, you can deduct contributions of 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.

The contributions must be made to a qualified organization and not set aside for use by a specific person.

If you give property to a qualified organization, you can generally deduct the fair market value (FMV) of the property at the time of the contribution. See Contributions of Property, later.

Your deduction for charitable contributions generally can’t be more than 60% of your AGI, but in some cases 20%, 30%, or 50% limits may apply.

Table 1 gives examples of contributions you can and can’t deduct.

Out-of-Pocket Expenses in Giving Services

Table 2. Volunteers’ Questions and Answers

• If you volunteer for a qualified organization, the following questions and answers may apply to you. All of the rules explained in this publication also apply. See, in particular, Out-of-Pocket Expenses in Giving Services.

Although you can’t deduct the value of your services given to a qualified organization, you may be able to deduct some amounts you pay in giving services to a qualified organization. The amounts must be:

• Unreimbursed;

• Directly connected with the services;

• Expenses you had only because of the services you gave; and

• Not personal, living, or family expenses.

Table 2 contains questions and answers that apply to some individuals who volunteer their services.

Underprivileged youths selected by charity.

You can deduct reasonable unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses you pay to allow underprivileged youths to attend athletic events, movies, or dinners. The youths must be selected by a charitable organization whose goal is to reduce juvenile delinquency. Your own similar expenses in accompanying the youths aren’t deductible.

Conventions.

If a qualified organization selects you to attend a convention as its representative, you can deduct your unreimbursed expenses for travel, including reasonable amounts for meals and lodging, while away from home overnight for the convention. However, see Travel, later.

You can’t deduct personal expenses for sightseeing, fishing parties, theater tickets, or nightclubs. You also can’t deduct travel, meals and lodging, and other expenses for your spouse or children.

You can’t deduct your travel expenses in attending a church convention if you go only as a member of your church rather than as a chosen representative. You can, however, deduct unreimbursed expenses that are directly connected with giving services for your church during the convention.

Uniforms.

You can deduct the cost and upkeep of uniforms that aren’t suitable for everyday use and that you must wear while performing donated services for a qualified organization.

Foster parents.

You may be able to deduct as a charitable contribution some of the costs of being a foster parent (foster care provider) if you have no profit motive in providing the foster care and aren’t, in fact, making a profit. A qualified organization must select the individuals you take into your home for foster care.

You can deduct expenses that meet both of the following requirements.

1. They are unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses to feed, clothe, and care for the foster child.

2. They are incurred primarily to benefit the qualified organization.

Unreimbursed expenses that you can’t deduct as charitable contributions may be considered support provided by you in determining whether you can claim the foster child as a dependent. For details, see Pub. 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information.

Example.

You cared for a foster child because you wanted to adopt the child, not to benefit the agency that placed the child in your home. Your unreimbursed expenses aren’t deductible as charitable contributions.

Church deacon.

You can deduct as a charitable contribution any unreimbursed expenses you have while in a permanent diaconate program established by your church. These expenses include the cost of vestments, books, and transportation required in order to serve in the program as either a deacon candidate or an ordained deacon.

Car expenses.

You can deduct as a charitable contribution any unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses, such as the cost of gas and oil, directly related to the use of your car in giving services to a charitable organization. You can’t deduct general repair and maintenance expenses, depreciation, registration fees, or the costs of tires or insurance.

If you don’t want to deduct your actual expenses, you can use a standard mileage rate of 14 cents a mile to figure your contribution.

You can deduct parking fees and tolls whether you use your actual expenses or the standard mileage rate.

You must keep reliable written records of your car expenses. For more information, see Car expenses under Substantiation Requirements, later.

Travel.

Generally, you can claim a charitable contribution deduction for travel expenses necessarily incurred while you are away from home performing services for a qualified organization only if there is no significant element of personal pleasure, recreation, or vacation in the travel. This applies whether you pay the expenses directly or indirectly. You are paying the expenses indirectly if you make a payment to the qualified organization and the organization pays for your travel expenses.

The deduction for travel expenses won’t be denied simply because you enjoy providing services to the qualified organization. Even if you enjoy the trip, you can take a charitable contribution deduction for your travel expenses if you are on duty in a genuine and substantial sense throughout the trip. However, if you have only nominal duties, or if for significant parts of the trip you don’t have any duties, you can’t deduct your travel expenses.

Example 1.

You are a troop leader for a tax-exempt youth group and you take the group on a camping trip. You are responsible for overseeing the setup of the camp and for providing adult supervision for other activities during the entire trip. You participate in the activities of the group and enjoy your time with them. You oversee the breaking down of camp and you transport the group home. You can deduct your travel expenses.

Example 2.

You sail from one island to another and spend 8 hours a day counting whales and other forms of marine life. The project is sponsored by a qualified organization. In most circumstances, you can’t deduct your expenses.

Example 3.

You work for several hours each morning on an archeological dig sponsored by a qualified organization. The rest of the day is free for recreation and sightseeing. You can’t take a charitable contribution deduction even though you work very hard during those few hours.

Example 4.

You spend the entire day attending a qualified organization’s regional meeting as a chosen representative. In the evening, you go to the theater. You can claim your travel expenses as charitable contributions, but you can’t claim the cost of your evening at the theater.

Daily allowance (per diem).

If you provide services for a qualified organization and receive a daily allowance to cover reasonable travel expenses, including meals and lodging while away from home overnight, you must include in income any part of the allowance that is more than your deductible travel expenses. You may be able to deduct any necessary travel expenses that are more than the allowance.

Deductible travel expenses.

These include:

• Air, rail, and bus transportation;

• Out-of-pocket expenses for your car;

• Taxi fares or other costs of transportation between the airport or station and your hotel;

• Lodging costs; and

• The cost of meals.

Because these travel expenses aren’t business-related, they aren’t subject to the same limits as business-related expenses. For information on business travel expenses, see Travel in Pub. 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses.

Using the guidance

Keep the documents that establish the dates, amounts, and circumstances described above. References to other chapters, forms, worksheets, or earlier and later sections refer to the linked IRS publication. Check the full publication and its updates before relying on a rule for a different tax year or a situation not addressed here.

Sources and further reading

• Publication 526 (2025), Charitable Contributions: Contributions You Can Deduct — Out-of-Pocket Expenses in Giving Services — Internal Revenue Service; 2025 edition.

The cited U.S. government text is in the public domain. Source accessed October 28, 2026. Fynoptic has organized this material for educational use and is independent of, and not endorsed by, the IRS.