Petrol for volunteering

stephy110288

My two volunteer placements are positions that other people get paid for, that I am happy to do for free for the experience, and I had tough competancy based interviews to get them. I'm more than happy to work for free however like Moose says, I can't afford to be out of pocket

Noctu

moose1982 wrote: »

While that is true and I agree with the points made, a volunteer shouldn't be out of pocket for helping out.

Volunteer schemes are getting harder to get onto these days (believe it or not!) and I've actually seen some which require the applicant to hold a relevant degree :eek:

I had to have a degree and ideally a masters, and previous voluntary experience in the area (psychology)!

I then had to go through a group interview then a one-to-one interview!

Needless to say it put me off working in the area (secondary care adult mental health), I was trying to get into clinical psychology but after experiencing the attitudes, work ethic, and red tape...

stephy110288

I'm the same, hoping to get on the Clinical Doctorate course and need tons of experience. I've actually gone for volunteer jobs before and not been successful because there were people that had already graduated also applying. I thought getting volunteer work would be easy at first but it's been an uphill struggle!

BoGoF

moose1982 wrote: »

You can claim the difference between the 29p and 45p per mile (which is the max HMRC will allow before it's taxable) via a P87 at the end of the tax year. HMRC will adjust your tax code, I've had this for a few years now.

But if the post is voluntary I assume it's unpaid therefore there is no earnings against which a deduction can be made.

LittleVoice

moose1982 wrote: »

I'm not sure on that if I'm honest, the form asks how many miles you've done and how much money you were paid for it. It also has boxes for things like hotel stays and suchlike but you can ignore those.

Bare in mind you won't actually get 45p per mile, it'll be an adjustment of your tax code and so you'll not pay as much income tax in your job.

And you don't actually get the 45p (or difference between that and the amount you do receive) by way of an adjustment to your tax code. HMRC only look at the tax element.

stephy110288

I do work part-time also... but I don't tend to earn over the threshold so usually get a tax rebate. I graduate in May so perhaps once I'm in full time employment the deduction could be taken from that?

hcb42

moose1982 wrote: »

While that is true and I agree with the points made, a volunteer shouldn't be out of pocket for helping out.

Volunteer schemes are getting harder to get onto these days (believe it or not!) and I've actually seen some which require the applicant to hold a relevant degree :eek:

unless the OPs car is hopelessly uneconomical, which i assume not, s/he wont be out of pocket at 29p.

Noctu

stephy110288 wrote: »

I'm the same, hoping to get on the Clinical Doctorate course and need tons of experience. I've actually gone for volunteer jobs before and not been successful because there were people that had already graduated also applying. I thought getting volunteer work would be easy at first but it's been an uphill struggle!

Good luck Steph - & if all else fails, come join us on the dark side (research) :rotfl:

BoGoF

stephy110288 wrote: »

I do work part-time also... but I don't tend to earn over the threshold so usually get a tax rebate. I graduate in May so perhaps once I'm in full time employment the deduction could be taken from that?

Not if the volunteering work is unpaid. Any expenses incurred in that role can only be given as a deduction from earnings from that 'employment'. Given that a) you are technically not employed when volunteering and b) you have no earnings from the volunteering then no deduction can be given.

stephy110288

Noctu wrote: »

Good luck Steph - & if all else fails, come join us on the dark side (research) :rotfl:

I have applied for a research assistant post too! I'm just trying to get myself out there right now and build up my CV, see what happens! The competition for the Doctorate is so steep, I just hope I can get enough experience!