§139B Benefits Provided to Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Medical Responders

Summary

Members of certain volunteer firefighting or emergency medical groups do not have to count two kinds of help from a state or local government as federal taxable income. One is a cut or rebate on state or local taxes because of the volunteering. The other is a payment from the state or local government for doing the volunteer work. Payments are limited to $50 for each month you serve that year. You cannot get double tax breaks: your state/local tax deduction must reflect any tax cut you received, and out-of-pocket expenses are deductible as charity only to the extent they are more than any excluded payments. A “qualified state and local tax benefit” is a tax cut or rebate given because of the volunteer service. A “qualified payment” is any payment from a state or local government for the service, capped at $50 per month. A “qualified volunteer emergency response organization” is a volunteer group that provides firefighting or emergency medical services and is required by a written agreement to do so for the state or local government.