Mr Beefy wrote:Stop saying you volunteer your time when you are paid for your time!
Volunteers can be paid in cash, given non-cash benefits or given a combination of both cash and non-cash benefits. These payments are given various descriptions, including honorariums reimbursements (an honorarium can describe:an honorary reward for voluntary services; a fee for professional services voluntarily rendered) and allowances
Where a person’s activities are a pastime or hobby – rather than income producing – money and other benefits received from those activities are not assessable income
A payment that is not assessable to a volunteer will have many of the following characteristics.
The payment is to meet incurred or anticipated expenses.
The payment has no connection to the recipient’s income-producing activities or services.
The payment is not received as remuneration or as a consequence of employment.
The payment is not relied upon or expected by the recipient for day-to-day living.
The payment is not legally required or expected.
There is no obligation on the part of the payer to make the payment.
The payment is a token amount compared to the services provided or expenses incurred by the recipient. Whether the payment is token depends on the full facts surrounding the payment and recipient’s circumstances.
So in short - yes a volunteer can be paid and they still are classed as a volunteer.