How can NPOs formalize cooperation with a volunteer? What expenses can be reimbursed to a volunteer without taxation and how?
On October 24, Nataliia Povtar, CEDEM lawyer, took part in the webinar “Volunteering: Application of New Legislative Changes” dedicated to a general overview of legislative changes related to volunteer activities.
Nataliia spoke about recent legislative changes, how they affect the activities of CSOs and volunteers, in particular, taxation of reimbursements of volunteers’ travel, accommodation, meal expenses, etc.
These changes (Laws of Ukraine No. 2519-ІХ and No. 2520-ІХ of August 15, 2022) were advocated by the Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law together with its partners as part of the project Ukraine Civil Society Sectoral Support Activity – thanks to them, in particular, non-profit institutions that involve volunteers in their activities get the opportunity to reimburse volunteers for their expenses for food, travel, accommodation, medical services, etc., incurred during the provision of volunteer assistance, as well as to expand the boundaries of support and assistance to CSOs.
If reimbursement of expenses related to the provision of volunteer assistance is planned between the volunteer and the non-profit organization, a Volunteering Agreement must be signed. Below we offer a template agreement that can be adapted and used by your organization. However, this is only a template, you can develop your own version of the agreement. The main thing is that it complies with the requirements of the legislation, in particular, as defined in Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine “On Volunteering”.
Template of the Volunteering Agreement
Larysa Shkurka, certified auditor, managing partner of Compass Group, explained to the webinar participants which verification mechanisms and the amount of expenses for volunteer compensation should be used by non-profit organizations so that such reimbursements are not subject to personal income tax.
The webinar is organized within the EU’s Emergency Support for Civil Society Project implemented by Isar Ednannia with the financial support of the European Union
