3.5 Travel and Other Expenses. The decision to reimburse or not to reimburse travel and other incidental expenses, as well as the amount of reimbursement, will be made by the project leader. The kind and amount of reimbursement will be specified in the Volunteer Services Agreement. Any changes in reimbursement will be documented as an amendment to the agreement. Service volunteers may be paid for transportation and per diem expenses that are clearly and directly related to Service work assignments.
Payment is made in the same manner as for regular employees.
Payment of travel and per diem expenses to a volunteer on a particular assignment must be supported by a specific travel authorization and cannot exceed the cost of employing a temporary employee of comparable qualifications at the work site. For example, payment of travel expenses for a field trip for a volunteer from the continental United States to Hawaii would be inappropriate compared to use of a local, temporary appointee or a volunteer in the local area. The IRS sets an annual ceiling on the percentum level of volunteer expenses which can be claimed. A copy of the Volunteer Services Agreement should be retained by the volunteer and may be used to support this claim. 3.6 Evaluations and Reports.