Reimbursing volunteers' expenses, or giving them a tax receipt
Published on September 18, 2026
A volunteer who is out of pocket for the association has two options, and the association does well to be able to explain both: reimbursement, or a tax receipt. What follows is the French framework.
The principle: real expenses, evidenced, incurred for the association
In both cases the same starting condition: these are costs actually incurred by the person for the association's activity, and evidenced (an invoice, a receipt, a mileage record). A flat sum paid with no receipt is not an expense reimbursement: it is a payment that can be reclassified as remuneration, with the social security and tax consequences that follow, and a risk of the relationship itself being reclassified. See the volunteering agreement.
Route 1: Reimbursement
The association repays the cost. For the volunteer it is not income: they are getting back what they laid out. For the association it is an ordinary charge, booked with its supporting document.
In practice, set the rules before the event rather than after: what is reimbursed (fuel, tolls, buying supplies), what is not, up to what ceiling, and by what procedure. A document handed to each volunteer concerned heads off the misunderstandings of the final evening; it is produced in a batch from a template by mail merge.
Route 2: Waiving the expenses, and the tax receipt
The volunteer may waive reimbursement and turn their outlay into a donation to the association. The association then issues a tax receipt, which entitles them to an income tax reduction for charitable giving.
The conditions come down to four points:
- the association must qualify for charitable giving: that is the first thing to check, and not all of them do;
- the costs must be incurred as part of the volunteering and towards the association's purpose;
- they must be evidenced and recorded: the simplest way is an ordinary expense claim with the paperwork attached;
- the waiver must be explicit: a dated note written by the volunteer on the claim, along the lines of "I waive reimbursement of these expenses and leave them to the association as a donation".
For travel, the French tax authority publishes a mileage rate specific to volunteers, separate from the employee rate and revised every year: that is the one to use, so its current-year value has to be checked.
What the association has to keep
- One expense claim per volunteer per period, with the receipts attached.
- The signed waiver, where expenses have been waived.
- The tax receipt issued, numbered, with a copy kept.
- A record of what the person did for the association on that date: the schedule is enough.
The three mistakes to avoid
- The flat sum with no receipt. "Fifty euros for the weekend" is not an expense reimbursement.
- The tax receipt with no written waiver. Without it, there is no waiver to speak of.
- The employee mileage rate instead of the volunteer one. They are two different rates.
These rules change, and both the amounts and the eligibility are to be checked with the tax authority or with your accountant. What does not change is the discipline: a receipt, an entry in the books, and a record of the activity.
Frequently asked questions
Can a volunteer be paid expenses without a receipt?
A flat payment with no receipt is not an expense reimbursement, and it exposes both the association and the person. If keeping track of receipts is too heavy, waiving expenses against a claim form is still simpler than a flat allowance.
Is the tax receipt automatic?
No: it assumes the association qualifies for charitable giving, that the expenses are evidenced, and that the waiver is in writing. Where eligibility is in doubt, the French tax authority has a formal ruling procedure for exactly that question.
Can a volunteer be reimbursed in kind (a meal, a ticket, accommodation)?
The usual rewards of volunteering (a meal on site, access to the event) are not an expense reimbursement and are handled separately. They must stay proportionate: a substantial reward would start to look like work exchanged for payment.