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Volunteer allowance 2025: Save tax with volunteer work

Would you like to know how much the volunteer allowance will be in 2025 and how you can best use the allowance for members? This article provides you with valuable tips on how to use the annual allowance for voluntary work.

spized | Club management

February 20, 2025 |

Whats’ on this page

1. How high will the honorary allowance be in 2025?

1.1 Definition: What is the honorary allowance?

2. Requirements for the payment of the lump sum for voluntary work

2.1 Which club members can receive the honorary allowance?

3. Using the volunteer allowance correctly: How clubs and members can best benefit from it

3.1 Website relaunch

3.2 The writers of the club news and match reports

3.3 Software, digitization, administration

3.4 Small repairs and improvements to the club premises or cabins

3.5 Bonus payments for trainers

3.6 The classics: Board members and materials manager

4. To whom may the lump sum for voluntary work be paid?

4.1 How to pay the lump sum for voluntary work

5. Lump-sum allowance for volunteers and lump-sum allowance for trainers: differences and possible combinations

5.1 Typical pitfalls with the lump sum for voluntary work

5.2 Donation back: What if the member wants to donate the lump sum?

6. Volunteer allowance 2025: The checklist for your association

How high will the honorary allowance be in 2025?

The tax-free allowance for voluntary work is 840 euros per year. The lump sum was only increased from the original 720 euros to 840 euros in 2021 by the Annual Tax Act. In 2025, the lump sum for voluntary work will remain unchanged at 840 euros. This gives associations more scope to reward the work of volunteers. Volunteers can also be happy because there will still be a little more money for their valuable work. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Definition: What is the honorary allowance?

The volunteer allowance is a tax-free allowance that allows non-profit associations to pay their volunteers a tax-free allowance. The allowance is free of all taxes for both the association and the beneficiary. The money is therefore a net amount for the volunteer.

The exemption limit applies to all volunteers or organizations that

have an organization for the promotion of charitable purposes (charitable associations, associations of individuals, foundations, church associations) and
for legal entities under public law (federal government, federal states, associations, chambers of industry and commerce).

The lump sum for voluntary work is therefore not limited to associations, but applies wherever voluntary work is carried out.

In 2025, there will be no changes to the lump sum for voluntary work, meaning that the allowance will remain at 840 euros per year. The lump-sum allowance for exercise leaders will also remain at 3,000 euros per year in 2025.

Requirements for the payment of the lump sum for voluntary work

The tax-free amount may only be paid out if there is a board resolution or a provision in the articles of association. This means that the amount is only tax-free if there is actually a verifiable entitlement to it. The honorary allowance must be actively granted to the association member, i.e. paid out. It is not possible to deduct the 840 euros from the tax return without an entitlement.

By the way: The double allowance applies to married couples. Provided that both are active in an honorary capacity.

Which club members can receive the honorary allowance?

All part-time activities in the voluntary sector are eligible for the honorary allowance. If the association is a non-profit organization, it does not matter which activity the volunteer performs in the association. The only important thing is that the activity fulfills a statutory purpose of the association. Statutory purposes are divided into two areas:

Idealistic area: Activities that directly fulfill statutory purposes.
Special-purpose operation: Economic activity that fulfills statutory purposes.

The non-material area includes, for example

Board members
Groundsman
Trainers or coaches (also co-trainers)
Equipment manager
Supervisors, security, stewards

Special-purpose operations include, for example

Treasurer
Cash auditor
Responsible for events (tournaments & events)
Accountant
Administrator for web applications

Tip: The volunteer allowance is an “annual allowance”. This means that the volunteer does not necessarily have to carry out the activity for the whole year. Furthermore, there is no requirement for the amount to be paid out monthly. The payment can therefore be made in one go, which gives the association a lot of flexibility.

Using the volunteer allowance correctly: How clubs and members can best benefit from it

If you calculate the monthly allowance for voluntary work, it comes to 70 euros. Admittedly: In today's world, this is not an amount that inspires people to pitch in and sacrifice their free time for voluntary work. However, because the volunteer allowance can be paid out so flexibly, there are attractive opportunities that clubs can take advantage of. We have worked out some ideas based on an annual payment.

1) Website relaunch

Most sports club websites are outdated and no longer up to date. Many clubs are certainly aware of this and would like to modernize their websites. Anyone researching this topic quickly realizes that a website cannot be modernized for a small amount of money. Perhaps there is a smart member in your club who is familiar with the subject and is willing to work with you for the volunteer allowance.

Tip: Once someone has been found for the website relaunch, you have an excellent opportunity to digitize simple association processes (inquiries, registrations and deregistrations, certificates, etc.) and implement them on the website.

2) The writers of the club news and match reports

Many clubs have recognized that regular posts on the website or social media channels bring more reach and attention. There are usually willing players or parents in the teams who are happy to take on such tasks. There are also often volunteers among the board members who are happy to report on the latest happenings at the club. Perhaps there are already mature ideas in your club to centralize club news and match reports and publish them in a controlled manner? Anyone who works as a volunteer “media officer” for the club can, of course, be remunerated with the volunteer allowance. This may be just the right motivational boost to keep up the great work next season.

3) Software, digitization, administration

The digital transformation is progressing continuously and does not stop at associations. Many processes can be digitized, which usually saves a lot of time and resources. But what software is available for bookkeeping, accounting or processes in the association? And how can implementation on the website work so that members also benefit from advanced approaches? Every association has an “IT nerd” who is familiar with these things. And if the helper helps with administrative tasks and advances digitalization processes, the association can reward this with a volunteer allowance.

4) Small repairs and improvements to the club premises or cabins

The cabins are dilapidated and the clubhouse has looked better in the past. A situation that is prevalent in many clubs and should be improved. Extensive conversion measures, refurbishments or renovations are very expensive and cannot be paid for with the volunteer allowance: However, small repair measures or embellishments often help to give the premises a new shine. And somewhere among the club members there is a volunteer with an affinity for handicrafts who is happy to take on the task. With the volunteer allowance of You can reward the work with a lump sum of 840 euros.

Tip: The honorary allowance is an annual allowance that can be paid out in any month of the year. This means that the association can pay out an honorary allowance of 840 euros in December of the previous year and 840 euros in January of the following year. This amounts to a total of 1,680 euros within two months.

5) Bonus payments for trainers

Bonus payments and performance bonuses for coaches play a more important role in performance-oriented amateur clubs. In high amateur leagues, a great deal is demanded of the coaching team by the association in terms of licenses and further training. This is financially and time-consuming for coaches. In addition, the expectations of the players, clubs and possibly parents are higher than in a purely recreational game. Nevertheless, clubs are short of money, which is why this demanding work can hardly be rewarded with expense allowances. If the coach takes on another voluntary activity in the club (e.g. board work, support services or association and paperwork), you can also reward them for this with the honorary allowance.

Tip: The tax-free allowance applies up to 840 euros per year. This amount does not necessarily have to be used in full. The payment of an honorary allowance of, for example, 300 euros is also legitimate and tax-free for both parties.

6) The classics: Board members and materials manager

Many board members in sports clubs work on a voluntary basis without any financial support. This is a remarkable achievement in view of the responsible and time-consuming tasks involved. It is not uncommon for board members to receive their honorary allowance at the end of the year. This is also completely legitimate because the Executive Board primarily performs tasks for the organisation.

Please note: The payment of the honorary allowance to the board should be anchored in the articles of association.

In addition, many clubs pay the equipment or groundsman a monthly volunteer allowance to compensate them for their important organisational and supervisory work. This can also be a sensible use of the annual allowance in the sports club.

Note: These are only ideas for the sensible use of the volunteer allowance. It goes without saying that every organisation must have the financial income to implement any suggestions.

To whom may the lump sum for voluntary work be paid?

As long as the voluntary work is carried out on a part-time basis, all association members may benefit from the tax-free allowance. The time spent on a part-time basis is a maximum of one third of the time spent on a full-time job. The association can pay out the annual allowance to more groups of people than is often assumed:

Housewives and househusbands
Schoolchildren
Unemployed or jobseekers
Students
Pensioners and retirees

Recipients of ALG II or citizen's allowance are also allowed to earn money. The special feature here is that a maximum amount of 250 euros per month [FL4] is provided for. Accordingly, the lump sum for voluntary work should be paid out monthly in such cases.

It is also possible to earn an additional amount on top of an already tax-free mini-job with the volunteer allowance. The tax-free limit of the mini-job is not affected by the lump sum for voluntary work. Two different activities must be involved.

Example: An office worker employed by the organisation (mini-job basis) cannot receive an additional 70 euros per month or 840 euros per year as an honorary allowance for the same work.

How to pay the lump sum for voluntary work

The organisation's documents must clearly show who receives the allowance. In addition, the volunteer should confirm in writing that they are not receiving the voluntary allowance from other organisations at the same time. Although this is generally permitted, it means that the excess amount is taxable.

Thanks to § 22 No. 3 S.2 EStG (Income Tax Act), there is another possibility to remunerate association members for their work. The paragraph stipulates that ‘other income’ up to 255.99 euros per year is tax-free. With the 840 euros of the lump sum for voluntary work, this amounts to 1,095.99 euros per year.

Lump-sum allowance for volunteers and lump-sum allowance for trainers: differences and possible combinations

The trainer allowance is also a tax-free income or expense that can be received for certain voluntary activities. The lump sum amounts to 3,000 euros per year and is aimed at people who take on a role as a trainer, instructor or carer. In addition, the work must have an educational, artistic or nursing background.

The most important difference to the lump sum for voluntary work is the specific activity that an exercise leader must carry out. The allowance for voluntary work is for anyone who undertakes activities on a part-time basis in the non-material area or for a specific purpose for the organisation.

Want to find out more about the trainer allowance? Click here for our detailed article.

Tip: If the trainer takes on two different activities in the club, the trainer allowance can be combined with the volunteer allowance. For example, the trainer allowance can be paid for training work and the volunteer allowance for website maintenance.

Typical pitfalls with the lump sum for voluntary work

The tax-free allowances offer associations many advantages as long as they do not inadvertently violate tax regulations. Therefore, pay attention to the most important aspects:

Delimitation of secondary employment: The allowances only apply to secondary employment. If the work is carried out on a full-time basis, no lump sums are to be claimed.
Maximum limits: The respective maximum amounts (3,000 euro lump sum for exercise leaders and 840 euro lump sum for voluntary work) may not be exceeded within one year. All payments or income in excess of this must be taxed.
Combinability: If a person carries out several activities, it is important to check in advance whether the two lump sums can be combined. Both allowances may not be claimed for the same activity.

Donation back: What if the member wants to donate the lump sum?

The expense donation - also known as a ‘return donation’ - is the repayment by the volunteer of remuneration that has already been paid out. This can be the volunteer allowance or the exercise leader allowance.

The association benefits from this in the first step, because otherwise the 840 euros paid out would no longer be in the account. The member can deduct the donation from tax and reduce the amount of taxable income. In the end, the volunteer receives less net money as a result of the donation compared to accepting the lump sum for voluntary work. This is because the donation only reduces the tax burden. The expense donation must fulfil three conditions:

The recipient must have a legal claim to payment of remuneration.
The organisation must be financially sound enough to be able to pay an honorary allowance even without a return donation.
The donation must be voluntary.

The member can agree to this in writing with a declaration of waiver. This is the basic prerequisite for stopping the accounting processes or the payment. The recipient can still deduct the lump sum directly from tax.

Volunteer allowance 2025: The checklist for your association

We have summarised the most important points here to help you keep track of everything and avoid falling into a stumbling block. Your checklist for the volunteer allowance:

The maximum annual amount is 840 euros.
The association can pay the lump sum for voluntary work for permanent, temporary or one-off activities.
The association may pay the allowance to the member as often as it wishes up to the maximum amount.
Remuneration is only paid for activities that fulfil statutory purposes (special-purpose or non-material purposes).
Every payment is properly booked and documented.
The volunteer confirms in writing that he/she does not make use of the lump sum in other organisations.
If the Board of Directors pays itself honorary allowances, this is anchored in the Articles of Association.