Our goals
We strive to eliminate barriers for volunteer drivers and to ease the financial burden imposed by current tax requirements on mileage reimbursement received by volunteers.
Challenges we’ve identified
Organizations that provide rides or transport for meals or donated organs have faced increasing barriers to recruiting and retaining volunteers. Programs face two major issues:
- Some auto insurance carriers are increasing their insurance rates on volunteer drivers, treating them like for-hire taxicab or Uber/Lyft drivers.
- Volunteers drivers are subject to federal and state income tax on mileage reimbursement received over the IRS-set rate of 14 cents per mile.
New legislation helps
Two pieces of legislation passed in Minnesota in 2021, helping to address these challenges:
- Defined a volunteer driver in law as not “for-hire.” The law defined a volunteer driver as “an individual who transports persons or goods on behalf of a nonprofit entity or governmental unit in a private passenger vehicle and receives no compensation for services provided other than the reimbursement of actual expenses.” See the law.
- Created a state income tax subtraction for volunteer drivers to reduce their tax liability in Minnesota.
There is more to do. The Coalition is focused on changing the federal charitable mileage reimbursement rate to match the business rate. This will more accurately reflect the actual costs of owning and driving a personal vehicle for charitable purposes. Volunteer drivers donate their time, reduce isolation for riders and provide millions of rides each year for older people and those who do not drive.
About the Coalition
The Volunteer Driver Coalition came together in 2019 with leadership from the Minnesota Public Transit Association and support from the Minnesota Association of Area Agencies on Aging, and the Live at Home Network.
Members include nonprofit organizations, cities, counties, area agencies on aging, Regional Transportation Coordinating Councils, associations, and others that support the Coalition’s advocacy initiative to strengthen volunteer driver programs in Minnesota.