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Dear Volunteer for the English Language Summer School in Ukraine:
Thank you again for helping the students of the Ukrainian Catholic University improve
their English this summer. Your contribution is greatly appreciated.
We have some interesting news for you. According to a recent article in Forbes
magazine (the June 11, 2001 issue), some or all of the expenses from your volunteer
service this summer may be tax deductible. Travel expenses incurred in rendering
services to certain types of tax-deductible organizations may be deductible
if there is "no significant element of personal pleasure, recreation or
vacation in such travel," according to Internal Revenue Code Section 170(j).
Furthermore, according to a regulation published by the IRS, "Reasonable
expenditures for meals and lodging necessarily incurred while away from home
in the course of performing donated services" may also be deductible. (Regulation
1.170A-1(h)(3)) According to the Forbes article, in order to deduct the cost
of the trip you must have worked a 40-hour week, and you should prepare a written
log of your hours in case you are audited.
Although Forbes is a popular publication, please be certain to discuss the
applicability of these deductions to your personal situation with your tax adviser.
While the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation can not give tax or legal
advice, or take a position as to the applicability of the deduction to any individual
(or to the group of volunteers as a whole), we wanted to bring this Forbes article
to your attention.
Thank you again for your contribution this summer. Keep in touch, and may God
bless you.
John Kurey,
UCEF President
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