Subject line pretty much says it...just curious if BOINC is a tax-exempt (not for profit or eductional) institution for tax purposes. If it is, we ought to be able to deduct the cost of the electricity we use for BOINC, the cost of PCs we buy specifically to run BOINC, etc...

Anyone have any info on this?

C

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My tax returns are said to be amoung the greatest works of fiction in the english language, so I would love more info on this too.

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Metal Detecting

Thanks for the info. As to the more info you'd like:
The 1040 form instructions, under charitable contributions, says words to the effect that out of pocket expenses for charitible purposes are deductible. For example, if you are a registered Scout leader, you may deduct the cost of your uniforms (can't be worn in normal civilian life). You can not deduct the cost of your child's uniforms. Another example: you drive your son 10 miles each way to his weekly Scout meeting - not deductible. However, if you are registered as an Assistant Scoutmaster at the Scout Troop, and you drive yourself to the weekly meetings, you may deduct an allowance (I think it's $0.12 per mile) as out of pocket expenses. This can apply to many different charitable institutions. Another example: the form says you can claim cost of room and board if you are away from home overnight for a charitable purpose. Have you ever gone along on a church youth group skiing outing as the chaperon? If so, you could legitimately claime the cost of your room, your mileage, and a reasonable amount for food for yourself as a deductible expense. Disclaimer: I am not a CPA; you should consult a CPA or Tax Attorney as to the legality of any potential deductions. I can advise you, however, to carefully read the instructions with the charitable contributions portion of the 1040 form. I will say, however, one of the best classes I ever took was a tax accounting class while working on my MBA.

My personal interpretation of the instructions says I can claim the cost of electricity for running SETI on my computer; if I purchased, or built, a PC for the sole purpose of running SETI, I could claim the cost of all the materials as an expense (but not my labor).

C

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They had a pretty in depth discussion on this topic last year at folding@home and it should apply here as well. The final conclusion was that sending money to the project was tax deductable. Trying to deduct for electricity and wear on the computer was risky at best. In all cases you should consult a tax law professional.

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BOINC WIKI

BOINCing since 2002/12/8

100 watts times 24 hours times 365 days times 10 c a kilowatt hour = 87 bucks.
30% tax bracket = 30 bucks.

Best case: you save a whopping 30 bucks (minus the extra charge your accountant charges. Some tax prep places charge '$10 per extra receipt'

So, for twenty bucks, you're waving a red flag at the tax guys to audit you.
it's possible they'd interpret the tax law as not appying in that situation, and the downside is stuff like claim rejected, penalties, appealing the decision, etc.

The 'church group trip' example is easier to claim as you'd have a receipt for the room, and the mileage can be looked up using mapquest.
Proving that you used x kilowatt hours of electicity is more difficult, as is proving that the pc was for seti use only.
Tax departments have professionals who can do forensics on computers for when they investigate places like Enron. They can easily find out if you used your computer for 'things other than seti'

Sorry that I have to say that, but there are people which need more help then SETI.

Better donate the organisations of the UNO!

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