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Mission Trips Involving Both Charitable and Personal Time

By Anonymous
Question:

A church group went on a two-week mission trip, and a few of the members stayed an additional two weeks for personal time. Will the members who stayed the two additional weeks be able to deduct expenses from the trip?

Answer:

IRS Pub 526 covers the topic of Charitable Contributions and, more specifically, travel expenses associated with charitable trips. The publication states that travel expenses will be deductible “if there is no significant element of personal pleasure, recreation, or vacation in the travel.” The publication also states, “The deduction for travel expenses won't be denied simply because you enjoy providing services to the charitable organization. Even if you enjoy the trip, you can take a charitable contribution deduction for your travel expenses if you are on duty in a genuine and substantial sense throughout the trip. However, if you have only nominal duties, or if for significant parts of the trip you don't have any duties, you can't deduct your travel expenses."

We addressed a very similar matter in a blog post linked below. Ultimately, the answer depends on the facts and circumstances of the specific trip.
http://ministrycpa.blogspot.com/2015/04/can-i-deduct-travel-costs-for-mission.html

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