I Am Catwoman… Hear Me Roar IRS

On June 14th, the Wall Street Journal published an article in which a rescue volunteer for felines received the best kitty treat of all from an IRS Ruling.  Even Morris the Cat is impressed…

Up until recently, unreimbursed volunteer expenses and the ability to take tax deductions for such gratuity have not been on the list of treats for donors.  Unless a gift was given directly to the charity in cash, other acceptable financial vehicle, or an in-kind format, a donor could simply forget about adding it to their tax return.

Our heroine for this post – the “crazy” cat lady has shed the assumed moniker and she is actually sane.  In fact, she has clawed her way to write-off expenses of not only food, but utilities and other costs for offering her house as a foster home to cats.  On a side note: she cared for 70 such cats (not all at one time I hope!) over the course of a year. 

Believe it or not, the IRS will now allow this justification of in-home unreimbursed expenses of $250 or more which furthers the organization’s mission. 

Not a cat person?!  Well, for all you dog-lovers and others who are ambivalent about cats… the message is very clear (although potentially not odorless) deductions which were formerly denied are now allowable.  (I smell BACON!)  As a charity, you might just want to share this article and ruling with all of your magnanimous volunteers.  You know the ones… the warm-hearted souls which have such a passion for your mission they “litter”-aly turn out their pockets to serve your cause.

As always – those same volunteers should consult a tax consultant for official guidance.  But on first glance, I bet our Cat Woman has popped open a can of extra special tuna in celebration...MEOW!

Click here for the full story.

Kristina E. Jones, M.A., CFRE

President, Stronger Organizations, LLC

CNM Consultant and Trainer