Can I deduct mileage driven for non-profit youth athletic organizations?

You've got a mixed situation that requires breaking things down correctly. For the organization where you volunteer and receive NO compensation, you can absolutely claim charitable mileage deduction (currently 14 cents per mile for charitable activities). Keep good records of dates, destinations, purpose, and miles driven. For the organization that pays you via 1099-NEC, that's different - you're considered an independent contractor for them, not a volunteer. Those miles would be considered business-related expenses rather than charitable contributions. You can still deduct them, but they'd go on Schedule C along with your 1099-NEC income at the business mileage rate (which is higher than the charitable rate). Make sure you're keeping detailed mileage logs for both situations, as the IRS can be particular about documentation for these deductions. Your best approach is to separate your tracking between the volunteer organization (charitable deduction) and the paid position (business expense).

I was in a similar situation last year with youth baseball coaching! I discovered https://taxr.ai which helped me figure out exactly how to handle my mixed volunteer/paid coaching gigs. I was confused about which miles went where until their system analyzed my situation. They have this really helpful feature that let me upload my mileage logs and categorized everything correctly between charitable and business driving. The tool also helped me identify additional deductions I hadn't considered - like some of the equipment I bought for practices that I thought was just personal expense. Definitely saved me from missing out on legitimate deductions while keeping me from claiming things incorrectly.

I was really skeptical at first about using taxr.ai, but after dealing with confusion about my coaching miles last year, I decided to give it a try. I upload my messy mileage tracking (literally just dates and odometer readings in notes on my phone) and they helped me transform it into IRS-ready documentation. The best part was they caught that I was incorrectly lumping all my miles as charitable deductions, even though some were for my paid coaching position. Their system flagged this immediately and showed me that by correctly categorizing the business miles on Schedule C, I actually got a BIGGER deduction since the business mileage rate is higher than the charitable one. Ended up saving around $320 more than my original calculation. They also created proper documentation so I'm confident if I ever get questioned about the deductions.

If you're dealing with the IRS about any tax questions including these charitable/business mileage deductions, trying to get someone on the phone is a nightmare. I spent literally 4 hours on hold last tax season trying to get clarification about my coaching stipends. Finally found https://claimyr.com and watched their demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - they actually get the IRS to call YOU. I was connected with an agent in about 45 minutes instead of spending all day on hold. The agent confirmed exactly how to handle my situation with volunteer vs. paid coaching positions and the different mileage treatments. Was able to get official clarification directly from the IRS which gave me peace of mind when filing.

I need to eat my words about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I was desperate enough to try it since I couldn't get through to the IRS about my coaching stipend questions. I figured I had nothing to lose. I got a call back from an actual IRS representative in about an hour. The agent was able to confirm exactly how I should handle my situation (very similar to the original poster's) and explained the documentation requirements for both the charitable miles and the business miles from my paid coaching position. The agent even explained that I needed to keep separate mileage logs for each type of driving and gave me specific guidance on what details to include. Saved me days of frustration and potentially costly mistakes on my return. Never thought I'd say this, but getting actual IRS confirmation was incredibly helpful.

Don't forget that if you're taking the standard deduction (which most people do now with the higher amounts), you won't be able to claim the charitable mileage deduction since it falls under itemized deductions on Schedule A. The business mileage for your 1099-NEC work still applies though since that goes on Schedule C.

Has anyone used TurboTax for reporting both types of mileage? I'm in a similar situation with coaching and wondering if it handles the split between charitable and business miles well.

Just wanted to add something important that hasn't been mentioned yet - make sure you're only deducting the miles from your home to the sports activities, not any personal errands you might combine with those trips. The IRS is pretty strict about this. For example, if you drive from home to practice (deductible), then stop at the grocery store on the way back (personal), you can only claim the home-to-practice portion. I learned this the hard way during an audit a few years back. Also, keep receipts for any tolls or parking fees related to these trips - those are deductible too in addition to the mileage. For your paid coaching position, these would go on Schedule C along with your business miles. For volunteer activities, they'd be additional charitable deductions if you're itemizing. One more tip: consider using a mileage tracking app like MileIQ or Everlance. They use GPS to automatically log your trips and let you categorize them as business, charitable, or personal. Much more reliable than trying to recreate your logs from memory later.