Volunteer expense allowance in 2025: everything you need to know

Volunteering is a valuable part of our society and is usually unpaid. However, in order to promote this commitment and compensate for the time spent, many organizations offer financial compensation, a so-called volunteer expense allowance, which is also tax-privileged. In this article, you will find out which volunteer expense allowances are available in 2025, what the requirements are and how you can take them into account in your tax return.

1. What allowances are available for voluntary work in 2025?
2. What are the requirements for an expense allowance?
3. Does the volunteer work have to be documented?
4. How is the expense allowance taken into account in the tax return?
5. FAQ – other frequently asked questions about expense allowances for voluntary work
6. Find your volunteer position on vostel.de

What allowances are available for voluntary work in 2025?

Depending on the activity you carry out as part of your voluntary work, you can receive different lump sums:

• The volunteer allowance is a tax-free allowance of currently €840 per year for all voluntary work that serves the purpose of a non-profit association or organization. You can find more information in our article on the volunteer allowance.
• The trainer allowance includes a tax allowance of up to €3,000 per year and can only be paid for certain educational, nursing and artistic activities. These include tasks as a trainer, instructor, educator, caregiver as well as artistic activities or the care of elderly, sick or disabled people. You can visit the website Deutsches-Ehrenamt.de for more information on this topic.
• The expense allowance from public funds is a financial benefit from the public budgets of the federal government, federal states or municipalities, which is paid for voluntary work in the service of the general public for sovereign tasks. You can find more information on this at the Federal Ministry of Finance.
• The expense allowance for voluntary care is a financial allowance for people who volunteer as legal guardians for people with physical or mental disabilities. You can find more information here: § 1878 BGB.
• The reimbursement of expenses is a legally regulated reimbursement of costs incurred by volunteers as part of their work in an association. This includes expenses such as travel or material costs.

The volunteer and trainer allowances are generally tax- and social security-free for voluntary work up to their maximum amount. This means that non-profit associations and companies can pay out these lump sums without having to pay tax. Volunteers do not have to pay tax on these either. More on this in the paragraph on declaring in the tax return.

All expense allowances at a glance

	Amount	includes the following activities
Volunteer allowance	840 € /year	all activities that serve the charitable purpose of an association or organization
Trainer allowance	3000 € /year	pedagogical activities as a trainer, instructor, educator, caregiver and artistic activities or the care of elderly, sick or disabled people
Expense allowance from public funds	from 250 € /month	public services such as serving as a lay assessor or judge as well as election workers or working for the voluntary fire department
Expense allowance for voluntary care services	425€ /year	Legal guardianship
Reimbursement of expenses	Individual cost amount	Expenses such as travel, postage, telephone or material costs

What are the requirements for an expense allowance?

In order to receive an expense allowance, certain requirements must be met. These include:

Non-profit: The activity must serve the non-profit purpose of the association or, in the case of public funds, be linked to the respective sovereign task.

Secondary occupation: The voluntary activity must not be carried out as a full-time occupation. According to the income tax guideline (R 3.26 para. 2 sentence 1 LStR), an activity is considered part-time if it comprises a maximum of ⅓ of the working hours of a full-time position, i.e. around 13-14 hours per week.

Voluntary: Activities must be performed voluntary, honorary and without regular payment.

It is important to note that different lump sums cannot be used for the same activity. However, it is possible to receive different lump sums for different tasks in the same club – for example, the volunteer allowance for organizational tasks and the trainer allowance for work as a trainer.

Does the volunteer work have to be documented?

In order to claim the expense allowance for your volunteer work for tax purposes, you should have documentation of your activities and compensation so that you can present it to the tax office. The following should be documented:

• Proof of activity: A confirmation from the organization about the type and scope of the activity performed.
• Written agreements: Clear regulations on the amount of the expense allowance and the time commitment.

How is the expense allowance taken into account in the 2024 tax return?

The expense allowance for tax purposes is easy to handle. Income up to the allowances – e.g. €840 for the volunteer allowance and €3,000 for the trainer allowance – is tax-free. They are therefore independent of the basic tax-free allowance (which amounts to EUR 12,096 / EUR 24,192 for married couples in 2025), which is advantageous for volunteers in terms of tax.

Where in the tax return do I have to declare the expense allowance for voluntary work?

As a self-employed person, you enter the expense allowance in Annex S and as an employee in Annex N. All income that exceeds the respective tax-free allowance is taxed as normal. You can find more information here at Finanztip, for example.

FAQ – other frequently asked questions about expense allowances for voluntary work

Find your volunteer position on vostel.de

You now know everything you need to about the 2025 expense allowance, but are still looking for a suitable volunteer position? On vostel.de you will find a large selection of volunteering opportunities in numerous ecological, social and cultural projects throughout Germany.

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