The MN Volunteer Driver Coalition, which MAVA is member of, had a win in the recent legislative session with the passage of a definition for a volunteer driver and a volunteer mileage reimbursement bill. As a result of this legislation, the burden on volunteers for paying state taxes on the difference between the mileage reimbursement rate for volunteers (14 cents a mile) and the standard IRS mileage reimbursement rate will be dropped. Guidance on this change will be available in a few months. The Volunteer Driver Coalition is hopeful that passage of the definition of a volunteer as different from a for-hire driver will result in insurance companies no longer increasing insurance rates on individuals solely because they volunteer as drivers. A Fact Sheet is currently being developed by the Minnesota Council on Transportation Access (MCOTA) to help organizations understand these legislative changes. MAVA will make this Fact Sheet available to members as soon as we receive it.
The Volunteer Driver Coalition continues to work at the federal level to raise volunteer reimbursement rates to equal those which businesses and nonprofits receive; those rates vary from year to year, but are much higher. The current volunteer reimbursement rate of 14 cents per mile has not been updated in twenty years.
MAVA congratulates the Volunteer Driver Coalition on this victory for volunteer engagement advocacy! For more information, or to join the coalition, contact David Kittelson at dkittelson@trellisconnects.org.
Ellie Burkett
Greater Minnesota Program Manager