Can I claim tax deductions for volunteer photography work at my kid's school?

I've been spending a ton of time volunteering at my daughter's elementary school this year. Mostly I do photography for events, edit all the photos, and create videos for their fundraisers and school plays. If I did this professionally, I'd normally charge around $1,500-2,000 per event for this kind of work. Since this is basically professional-level work that I'm donating, I'm wondering if there's any way I can deduct the value of my time or services on my taxes? It's probably like 10-15 hours per month that I'm giving to the school. I know I can deduct tangible donations, but what about the value of specialized skills/services? Any advice would be super appreciated! Getting ready to start working on my taxes and trying to figure out if this is something I can include.

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18 comments

Zara Rashid

•8M

While it's awesome that you're volunteering your photography skills at your child's school, unfortunately the IRS doesn't allow you to deduct the value of your time or services when volunteering for charitable organizations, even when those services would normally be paid work. That said, you CAN deduct certain out-of-pocket expenses related to your volunteer work. This includes things like mileage driving to and from the school specifically for volunteer purposes (at 14 cents per mile), any supplies you purchased for the volunteer work (memory cards, props for photo shoots, etc.), or specialized equipment you had to buy specifically for this volunteer work. The school needs to be a qualified 501(c)(3) organization for these deductions to be valid, and you'll need to itemize deductions on Schedule A rather than taking the standard deduction for these to benefit you.

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Zara Rashid

•8M

Equipment like a camera lens falls into a gray area. If you can demonstrate that you purchased it specifically and exclusively for your volunteer work, you might be able to deduct it. However, if you'll use it for personal photography as well, the IRS would likely consider it a dual-use item, which wouldn't qualify for a full deduction. For these types of expenses, you generally need to determine what percentage is used exclusively for the volunteer work, and you might be able to deduct that portion. But this is an area where documentation is crucial - keep receipts and a log showing when and how the equipment was used for volunteer purposes.

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Nia Jackson

•8M

Hey! Just wanted to share my experience - I was in a similar situation last year with my web design skills for our local animal shelter. I spent hours building them a new site and couldn't deduct my time either. I found this really helpful tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that actually saved me tons of headaches when figuring out which of my volunteer expenses were deductible. It analyzed all my receipts from throughout the year and highlighted which ones were potentially deductible charitable expenses that I had completely forgotten about! It also explained exactly what documentation I needed to keep for each type of expense. Much easier than trying to sort through IRS publications myself.

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Nia Jackson

•8M

Yes! It actually works really well with receipt photos - that's primarily how I used it. You just snap pics of all your receipts and it processes them. It asks follow-up questions about each receipt to help determine if it's potentially deductible and what category it falls into. It doesn't automatically know which expenses are for volunteering versus personal use - it guides you through a series of questions about each purchase to help you make that determination properly. The system is designed to ensure you're following IRS guidelines, not to help you claim inappropriate deductions. It actually saved me from making some mistakes that could have caused issues if I was audited.

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Mateo Hernandez

•8M

After reading about taxr.ai here, I decided to give it a try with all my volunteering receipts from coaching my kid's soccer team. I was honestly surprised at how well it worked! The system found about $340 in legitimate deductions from equipment and supplies I'd completely forgotten about buying for the team. The best part was how it walked me through exactly what documentation I needed for each item to satisfy IRS requirements. Definitely less stressful than my usual tax prep guesswork. I'm actually going to use it for my business expenses this year too.

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Aisha Khan

•8M

Have you tried calling the IRS directly to ask about these deductions? I spent 3 HOURS on hold trying to get an answer about volunteer deductions last year and eventually gave up. Then I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which basically calls the IRS for you and holds your place in line. When an agent is about to pick up, they call you! Saved me hours of frustration. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I actually got through to an IRS agent within 45 minutes instead of waiting all day. The agent was super helpful and explained exactly which of my volunteer photography expenses qualified and which didn't.

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Aisha Khan

•8M

It's actually pretty straightforward - they use technology to place the call and wait in the queue for you. When they detect that an agent is about to answer, they immediately call your number and connect you directly to the IRS agent. There's no middleman listening in on your actual conversation with the IRS. I was skeptical too at first, but it's completely legitimate. They don't interact with the IRS on your behalf or access any of your personal tax information. They're just solving the hold time problem. I spent days trying to get through on my own before finding this. The IRS is severely understaffed, with hold times often exceeding 2-3 hours, and this service just eliminates that wasteful waiting.

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Mateo Hernandez

•8M

I need to eat my words about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, I decided to try it anyway because I was desperate to ask about some volunteer expense deductions before filing my taxes. It actually worked exactly as advertised! I got a call back in about 30 minutes, and spoke directly with an IRS agent who answered all my questions about deducting expenses for my volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity. No scam at all - just a huge time saver. Honestly wish I'd known about this service years ago.

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Yuki Ito

•8M

Yes, definitely get some documentation from the school! What worked for me was getting a simple letter from the school's administration acknowledging my volunteer work and confirming that I provided the supplies for school purposes. I also kept a log of what I printed, when, and for which school events. Taking photos of the finished displays or yearbook pages with your printed photos can also serve as supporting evidence. My accountant said having this documentation is crucial if you ever get questioned about these deductions.

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