Charitable Deduction for 2nd home

[Hawkeye225]

In order for me to accomplish a goal of mine, I am going to need to spend 2-3 months away from home every year in order to provide charitable work.  If i purchased an inexpensive second home for this, would some of the costs of the purchase, maintenance, etc. be deductible?  I know that there are travel deductions (which would be deductible including staying in a hotel) for this purpose and instead of staying in a hotel or renting I am wondering how a purchase could fit into this.  Thanks.

[jfoxcpacfp]

That's an interesting question and I must admit I've not been faced with it before. Of course, none of the purchase would count as a donation because there is no completed gift. But, I agree, you should be able to get some deduction for the use of it for charitable purposes, same as you would for other travel expenses. This is an area that is likely not spelled out specifically by the IRS. How to calculate and document with IRS code references is something that would take a bit of time and you should discuss with your CPA.

[Faithful Steward]

Check out page 5 of IRS Publication 526 on charitable contributions. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p526.pdf

"Travel. Generally, you can claim a charitable contribution deduction for travel expenses necessarily incurred while you are away from home performing services for a charitable organization only if there is no significant element of personal pleasure, recreation, or vacation in the travel."

I think where you run afoul of the rules is that the property, as you put it in your own words, is your second home.

Just my 2 cents and not a reply you should hang your hat on, as I'm not a CPA or EA.

[AnotherSecondOpinion]

I suppose having your wife purchase the home and then "renting" from her during your mission trips is frowned upon in the tax world?