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Pro Bono 2424 Responses
Last post: 1 year, 11 months ago | Thread started: Mar 12, 10, 9:31 a.m.
- gramme
I read somewhere recently that pro bono work isn't tax deductible. Is that true everywhere in the U.S.?
Now, charitable donations are obviously tax-deductible. So what would prevent a designer from claiming pro bono work done for nonprofits as charitable donations? The way I see it, there's a vocational sacrifice involved, i.e. the donation of otherwise billable hours; and if it's a nonprofit in the habit of receiving donations, then why can't design work be considered a donation of work in trade, written off for the value of the work?
- Mar 12, 10, 9:31 a.m. – Permalink
- duckofrubber
You need to get a letter from the non-profit that acknowledges your donation with dollar amount in order to claim it as a proper deduction.

- Dog-earMar 12, 10, 9:54 a.m. – Permalink
- johndiggity
pro-bono to a 503c organization = tax deductable
pro-bono to a for profit (non 503c) = free work

- Dog-earMar 12, 10, 11:04 a.m. – Permalink
- nosaj
Say you made $50,000 in a year and contributed another $50,000 of your time to a charity and you were able to claim pro bono work done for nonprofits as charitable donations you would not pay any income tax at all.
If you made $50,000 in a year and contributed $50,000 cash to a charity you would have no income to tax - thus a $50,000 tax deduction.


- Dog-earMar 12, 10, 11:04 a.m. – Permalink
- gramme
bzsaw, how exactly did you go about that? Did you invoice them and then as a line item discount your entire fee?
BTW there are two specific clients in question. Both are various kinds of registered nonprofit. One's pro bono, the other is drastically discounted. The latter has already given me an official letter recognizing the amount of discount.
I do understand the difference in working for those kinds of business vs. just giving it away to a for-profit.


- Dog-earMar 12, 10, 12:21 p.m. – Permalink
- gramme
lukus, maybe I'm thinking of this in too simplistic terms, but when I give money to my church, I get a tax deduction for it. So the idea is that I donated X work which is worth X dollars. It's time that could ostensibly be spent doing paid work, i.e. it could be seen as a donation.
What nosaj says makes sense though, about getting paid and then donating it. I think. I'm horrible at algebra. Also, it's Friday and I'm still working. Mind = fried.


- Dog-earMar 12, 10, 4:24 p.m. – Permalink



