Use a log, not the trust system. Put a fixed rate on what the mileage will be paid at.
<blockquote>quote:</font><hr> I drive one of those big SUV's <hr></blockquote>
This may be a problem for you personally. If you are only being reimbursed for .14 a mile, and your SUV eats up .60 a mile, you may want to let someone else do the driving. A $10 bill will go a long way in a Ford Ranger, but won't even move the needle in a full sized SUV. You can always take whatever you don't get back from your group and put it on your taxes.
I was just talking about this very thing earlier today with my Vice! I drive one of those big SUV's and do most if not all the running for our PTO. We also are a rural school.How would a person go about setting it up to reimburse a person? Would you have to do the log thing or just go on trust? Has any one done this before? I do agree trips to the school and meetings are out but trips to purchase supplies when it takes one and a half hours just to get to the store would count.
We have a budget amount for long distance calls with our PTA group for the President, although, no one in recent years has asked to be reimbursed. This was put in because our regional phone call bills are high. I don't see a difference with mileage reimbursement.
What are the standard mileage rates for 1999, 2000, and 2001?
For 1/1/99 - 3/31/99 and for 2000, the standard mileage rate is 32.5 cents a mile for all business miles. For 4/1/99 - 12/31/99 the rate is 31 cents per mile. The rate for moving or medical reasons is 10 cents a mile. The rate for travel for charitable volunteer work is 14 cents a mile.
For 2001, the standard mileage rate for all business miles is increased to 34.5 cents per mile per Revenue Procedure 2000-48. The standard mileage rate for moving or medical reasons is increased to 12 cents a mile. The rate for travel for charitable volunteer work remains at 14 cents a mile.
For more information, refer to Tax Topic 510, Business Use of Car, and Publication 463, Travel, Entertainment, and Gift Expenses.
Not a lawyer, but I believe it is legal to reimburse for mileage. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be. Non-profits (this refers to formally designated 501(c)(3)s, by the way) can do all kinds of big things. They can have employees, pension plans, etc., etc.
In fact, I believe that -- if mileage isn't reimbursed -- a volunteer could take a tax deduction for mileage driven on behalf of a nonprofit.
Nonprofit does not mean that group has to operate like a lemonade stand at a yard sale. It just refers to where any excess moneys go (toward the cause).
All that said, I have not run across many/any groups that reimburse for mileage. I wouldn't have a problem with it, if there was some exceptional trip made on behalf of the parent group. I wouldn't reimburse for driving to and from meetings down the street, but....
Nutshell: I believe your asst. principal is wrong in his legal assessment.
Don't know the legalities of reimbursing for gasoline or mileage, however . . . during one of my girl scout training sessions in a previous lifetime I was told that all mileage for GS purposes (i.e. - trips to purchase items, mileage to/from meetings, campouts, etc.) should be logged and you could put those under "tax deductions" on your federal income taxes at the IRS prevailing rate for mileage (I think now 33 cents per mile or something along those lines.)
