Associate Pastor

[Tax Prep by Deb]

I have a client who is an associate pastor at his church. He doesn't receive any kind of money for his work. His question was the use of his personal vehicle in connection with church functions, whether the mileage can be deducted as a charitable mileage deduction contribution.

He lives approximately 45 miles from his church, he does conduct some church services, he is also involved in many outreach programs thru his church and travels to various locations.

We discussed that the services he attends, (where he is not the pastor) would be for his benefit therefore not deductible, but what about if he is teaching a class, or heading a group meeting?

Anyone with experience in this and who would like to chime in, I would greatly appreciate it. This guy is one of those who truly is up and up but would like to avail himself of any tax break that he legally can claim.

Thanks in advance,

Deb!

[kcjenkins]

Deb, he certainly can claim that mileage, that is just the sort of thing that rule was set up for. It's not much, but it's a proper deduction for such mileage.

[Tax Prep by Deb]

Deb, he certainly can claim that mileage, that is just the sort of thing that rule was set up for. It's not much, but it's a proper deduction for such mileage.

Thanks KC.

I was pretty sure it was based on what I had read and such, but I'm a one person office and it helps to bounce off thoughts with others. That's why I love this community!

Deb!

[kcjenkins]

We all benefit from that, I agree. No matter how much you know about taxes, there are so many twists and turns in the code that it never hurts to talk it over. We all make mistakes from time to time, just because we get in a hurry or we over-think something or overlook a small detail that changes things.

[MAMalody]

I agree. It clearly qualifies as a contribution.