Saving the life of an animal could get you a tax break

Did you know that your expenses related to providing foster care for a homeless animal from the ACCT Philly shelter may be tax deductible? In a landmark case a judge ruled in 2009 that food, cleaning supplies and other expenses could be used by a pet foster parent towards his or her charitable deduction.

Even if you aren’t prepared to take advantage of it this year, now is the time to get ready for next year.  In order to determine which of your expenses may qualify for a deduction you will need to talk to your accountant or tax professional but here are some helpful hints to get you started:

• Save all of your receipts
• Make notes on every receipt to record what you purchased and how it was used
• Purchase supplies for your household pets separately from your foster pets and keep separate records (supplies purchased for your pets are not tax deductible)
• Submit copies of your receipts and request an in-kind tax receipt and confirmation of your volunteer foster work from ACCT Philly’s Lifesaving Department if your expenses are greater than $250

This deduction is only available for those performing volunteer foster care for an approved, 501c3 charity. Lucky for you – the Animal Care and Control Team is a 501c3 organization! Yet another reason to become an ACCT Philly foster parent!

You can become a foster parent today. There is a critical need for temporary homes for medium to larger sized dogs, baby kittens, adult cats and animals of all type recovering from injury or illness. Visit ACCT Philly's foster care program page for more information or:

Come down: 9 am – 6 pm everyday to the ACCT Life Saving Department at 111 W Hunting Park Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19140
Call: 9 am – 6 pm everyday at 267-385-3800
Email: foster@acctphilly.org