Donations to a Public Benefit Organisation (ANBI) are deductible for the purposes of income tax. However, even if you choose not to claim the remuneration for your voluntary work for an ANBI, you are still entitled to a tax deduction. If you do voluntary work for an cultural ANBI you may even multiply the tax-deductible donation by a factor of 1.25. In the ANBI register It is noted whether an ANBI is a cultural ANBI.
Volunteering
In our article volunteers We explain what constitutes voluntary work and the maximum allowances that may be paid to volunteers without incurring payroll tax.
Tax-deductible donation
A volunteer who waives the allowance for their voluntary work may claim a tax deduction for donations in their income tax return for the amount of the allowance, provided that the following conditions are met.
* The organisation must issue a statement confirming that the person concerned has worked as a volunteer, as defined for the purposes of payroll tax (see above).
* The interested party is entitled to the compensation.
* The institution must be willing and able to pay the compensation.
* The volunteer is free to decide how to use the allowance (they must be free to choose whether to have it paid out or to use it for something else).
If no reimbursement is provided for the actual costs of voluntary work, the actual costs may be taken into account, insofar as these costs are deemed to be eligible for reimbursement in accordance with generally accepted social norms. This also applies where the organisation has not established a reimbursement scheme for these costs.
With regard to travel costs by car (excluding taxis), a rate of €0.19 per kilometre is applied.
In a case in which the Zeeland-West Brabant District Court Recently, the volunteer claimed a tax deduction on the grounds that:
– waiving the volunteer allowance (which, in accordance with the rules on payroll tax, amounted to €125 per month; €1,500 per year) and
– any other costs incurred by him but not reimbursed.
The court ruled that the other costs could only be deducted if they exceeded the volunteer allowance. The volunteer had not demonstrated that this was the case.
Sports club
Donations are only tax-deductible for income tax purposes if they are made to an ANBI. Unfortunately, therefore, waiving reimbursement for expenses incurred in connection with voluntary work for, for example, a sports club does not qualify for the charitable donation allowance. This is because a sports club generally does not qualify as an ANBI. The same applies to other associations whose primary purpose is to represent the interests of their members.
Many organisations do qualify as Organisations Promoting Social Welfare (SBBI). As a result, donations and legacies received by them are exempt from inheritance and gift tax.
Regular donations to associations may, however, qualify for the charitable donation allowance. This scheme offers associations attractive funding opportunities. See also our article Periodic donation.