can pro-bono work be a tax write-off?

and if so, how does that work?

[Emma McCreary]

I always thought you couldn't claim pro-bono work as a tax-deductible contribution because it was just your time, but then I just ran across a site that gives away free web design to their non-profit hosting clients, and they say they do it because they use it as a tax write-off. So does anyone know what the sitch is on this?

[The Contractor]

Only if they are a legal non-profit organization and they agree they are accepting this work as a charitable donation.

Only other time I know you can write off work is if you delivered the work and all/part of the bill went unpaid - this is a loss. If you recover the loss at a later time of course you have to claim this as such.

[bmcgee]

I'm no lawyer, but in the charitable work I've done, I was told you cannot write off your time. You can write off expenses you pay for the client.

Example, you build a web site for a charity, and you arrange the hosting at your favorite host. If you pay the hosting fees, those can be written off as a charitable contribution. If you hire a consultant to write a specialize script for the site and you pay them out of your pocket, you can write that off as a charitable contribution. However, the time spent to build the site cannot be written off.

I would consult your accountant, but that's what ours tells me. Hopefully someone will tell me I need a new accountant!

[Laisha]

You can't write it off -- other than materials used, etc. -- on your federal taxes, but you can in some states.

In New Mexico, for instance, I know you can because they tax services.

This has been a regurgitation of what my accountant explained to me when I had to pay NM taxes.

[martinibuster]

I posed a similar question a while back. Can't find the thread but the consensus matched what bmcgee said. You can't write off your time, but you can write-off expenses related to the creation (which you would be doing anyway).

The only plus side is if the web site attracts media attention and receives links from online stories or gets free listings in important charitable directories; in which case you can slap your "powered by" logo on the first page and suck up some PR.

Beyond that and some word of mouth, there's no real percentage in it.

[The Contractor]

Well, I can only speak from experience and from the State I live in (Even though it's a Federal issue). You can indeed write off the value of the job if a set price is given, a "value" is placed upon the package, and the entity agrees and gives you a receipt for the value/price. There are many businesses that I know, and have participated in myself that have done this for one of the local churches. It has to be a professional service - not just donating time in a soup kitchen.

My 2-cents ;)

[Mardi_Gras]

When you want web design help - seek out a web professional. When you need tax advice, seek out a tax professional. You are getting guesses here - you need qualified expert advice.