Volunteer Policeman

[Black Bart]

My auxilliary cop client listed his "police stuff": Uniform-$150/ gun-$450/ training school-$250. No pay involved, just a civic-minded guy, but he wants to deduct this on "A."

I've checked on out-of-pocket expenses for services to a "qualified organization." Seems like the rules that say "(organizations) that perform substantial government functions" should include police, but the only reference I find is about cash donations to them.

It's a new situation for me. I know several voluteer firemen, but none of them take anything off their taxes for it. Anybody know if it's okay or has done it before?

[S T]

See Pub 526

Pub 526, page 5, has a list of volunteers questions and answers and out of pocket Expenses in Giving Services.

Uniforms and Cleaning is among the items that is deductible, if the organization is qualified and the uniforms are not suitable for everyday use and you must wear them when volunterring.

Sandy

[veritas]

How about

the pistol? Probably a Glock.

[erchess]

My opinion

The uniforms as has been pointed out are good always assuming that he is not allowed to wear anything else when functioning as an officer. Following the example of a stage performer or a painter I would deduct the uniform expenses in the year paid without asking how long they were going to last.

The training course I think would be good as long as it is required. It is likely that he has to do annual education to keep being a volunteer cop but even if not I would be caught deducting the expense in the year paid rather than feeling that the deduction had to be somehow written off over time.

For both the training and the uniforms lots of people in different situations deduct uniforms and education in the year paid for even though the uniforms may last beyond one year and the value of the education often does. But I feel in my bones that the gun will have to be written off over time unless he habitually gets a new gun each year and retires the old one from service. Like a carpenter's electric drill it is a tool costing over $100 and having an expected useful life (unless I am mistaken) of over one year. I don't even think that for a charitable use the 179 is available. I don't think my software has depreciation for items used in charitable service so I would do the schedule by hand and find a place to put this year's portion.

The good news of course is that we are working on a charitable deduction not an employee business expense so there is no agi related reduction in the deductible amount.