A payment to your not-for-profit organisation's volunteers is an allowance when it is a definite, predetermined amount to cover an estimated expense. It is paid even if the volunteer does not spend the full amount.
Is an allowance assessable income?
Whether an allowance is assessable income of the volunteer depends on the facts surrounding the payment and the relationship between the volunteer and your not-for-profit organisation.
If a volunteer receives an allowance with no regard to actual expenses and there is no requirement to repay unspent monies, the allowance may be treated as assessable income.
Example: Allowance – assessable income
Marko volunteers as a telephone counsellor for a crisis centre. He is rostered on night shifts during the week and is occasionally called in on weekends. When Marko works weekends the centre pays him an allowance of $150. The allowance is paid to acknowledge Marko’s extra efforts and to compensate him for additional costs incurred. These payments to Marko are considered assessable income.
End of example