The IRS has issued three local rulings that Time DollarsT are tax exempt. They have given three reasons for this status.
1. An hour is always an hour, regardless of what is offered
2. They are backed only by a moral obligation and are not legally binding
3. Their purpose is charitable.
edit:
Q: Are TimeBank Hours taxable?[0]
A: No. In several cases TimeBank Hours have been ruled tax exempt by the IRS because an hour is always valued at one hour. There is no legal responsibility on anyone's part to redeem a TimeBank Hour, and the purpose of TimeBank Hours is charitable. Read the IRS rulings here[1]. And more articles here[2]. At some point this could be challenged and we think we have a great case to make that our time spent helping one another should not be taxed.
iirc it is based on whatever the irc considers fair market value for the service. I couldn't find the spot on irs.gov where I read that in the past but there is this link that gives an example and mentions FMV
The IRS has issued three local rulings that Time DollarsT are tax exempt. They have given three reasons for this status.
1. An hour is always an hour, regardless of what is offered
2. They are backed only by a moral obligation and are not legally binding
3. Their purpose is charitable.
edit:
Q: Are TimeBank Hours taxable?[0]
A: No. In several cases TimeBank Hours have been ruled tax exempt by the IRS because an hour is always valued at one hour. There is no legal responsibility on anyone's part to redeem a TimeBank Hour, and the purpose of TimeBank Hours is charitable. Read the IRS rulings here[1]. And more articles here[2]. At some point this could be challenged and we think we have a great case to make that our time spent helping one another should not be taxed.
[0] http://danecountytimebank.org/faq
[1] http://assets.danecountytimebank.org/IRS_TimeDollar_Rulings....
[2] http://actionhub.timebanks.org/taxonomy/term/72