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- What allowances are available for voluntary work in 2026?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- What are the requirements for an expense allowance?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Does the volunteer work have to be documented?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How is the expense allowance taken into account in the tax return?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- FAQ – other frequently asked questions about expense allowances for voluntary work<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Find your volunteer position on vostel.de<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
What allowances are available for voluntary work in 2026?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"seven](\"https:\/\/vostel.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/freiwilligegartenbau-1024x341.png\")
Image: Canva<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Depending on the activity you carry out as part of your voluntary work, you can receive different lump sums:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- The volunteer allowance<\/strong> is a tax-free allowance of currently \u20ac960 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<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The trainer allowance<\/strong> includes a tax allowance of up to \u20ac3,300 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<\/a> for more information on this topic.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The expense allowance from public funds <\/strong>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<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The expense allowance for voluntary care <\/strong>is a financial allowance for people who volunteer as legal guardians for people with physical or mental disabilities. You can find more information here: \u00a7 1878 BGB<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The reimbursement of expenses <\/strong>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.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All expense allowances at a glance<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
<\/td> Amount<\/strong><\/td> includes the following activities<\/strong><\/td><\/tr> Volunteer allowance<\/strong><\/td> 960 \u20ac \/year<\/td> all activities that serve the charitable purpose of an association or organization<\/td><\/tr> Trainer allowance<\/strong><\/td> 3300 \u20ac \/year<\/td> pedagogical activities as a trainer, instructor, educator, caregiver and artistic activities or the care of elderly, sick or disabled people<\/td><\/tr> Expense allowance from public funds<\/strong><\/strong><\/td> from 250 \u20ac \/month<\/td> public services such as serving as a lay assessor or judge as well as election workers or working for the voluntary fire department<\/td><\/tr> Expense allowance<\/strong><\/strong> for voluntary care services<\/strong><\/td> 450 \u20ac \/year<\/td> Legal guardianship<\/td><\/tr> Reimbursement of expenses<\/strong><\/td> Individual cost amount<\/td> Expenses such as travel, postage, telephone or material costs<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n What are the requirements for an expense allowance?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In order to receive an expense allowance, certain requirements must be met. These include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Non-profit:<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondary occupation:<\/strong> 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 \u2153 of the working hours of a full-time position, i.e. around 13-14 hours per week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voluntary:<\/strong> Activities must be performed voluntary, honorary and without regular payment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Does the volunteer work have to be documented?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- Proof of activity<\/strong>: A confirmation from the organization about the type and scope of the activity performed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Written agreements<\/strong>: Clear regulations on the amount of the expense allowance and the time commitment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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How is the expense allowance taken into account in the 2026 tax return?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Person](\"https:\/\/vostel.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/arbeitamlaptop-1024x341.png\")
Image: Canva<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n The expense allowance for tax purposes is easy to handle. Income up to the allowances – e.g. \u20ac960 for the volunteer allowance and \u20ac3,300 for the trainer allowance – is tax-free. They are therefore independent of the basic tax-free allowance (which amounts to EUR 12,348 \/ EUR 24,696 for married couples in 2026), which is advantageous for volunteers in terms of tax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where in the tax return do I have to declare the expense allowance for voluntary work?<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a>, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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FAQ – other frequently asked questions about expense allowances for voluntary work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/vostel.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/1-2-1024x341.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n - Written agreements<\/strong>: Clear regulations on the amount of the expense allowance and the time commitment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- The trainer allowance<\/strong> includes a tax allowance of up to \u20ac3,300 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<\/a> for more information on this topic.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- What are the requirements for an expense allowance?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n