The DELIVER Act of 2025 increases the standard mileage deduction rate for volunteers delivering meals to elderly, disabled, frail, and at-risk individuals.
Angus King
Senator
ME
The DELIVER Act of 2025 aims to support meal delivery to vulnerable populations by increasing the tax deduction for volunteers using their personal vehicles. This legislation allows volunteers delivering meals to elderly, disabled, frail, and at-risk individuals to claim the standard IRS business mileage rate for those specific trips. This change ensures greater reimbursement for those providing essential meal services.
DELIVER Act Boosts Meal Delivery Volunteer Deduction: Claim the Full IRS Mileage Rate Now
The aptly named DELIVER Act of 2025, or the Delivering Elderly Lunches and Increasing Volunteer Engagement and Reimbursements Act, is all about making life easier for the folks driving meals to homebound people. This bill targets a specific pain point for volunteers using their own cars to help the elderly, disabled, frail, or at-risk individuals: the tax deduction for mileage.
The Mileage Deduction Upgrade
Right now, if you volunteer, the IRS often limits your charitable mileage deduction to a lower rate than the standard business rate. This bill changes that for a very specific group of drivers. Under Section 2, if you use your personal vehicle to deliver meals to the specific vulnerable populations listed (elderly, disabled, frail, or at-risk), you are now allowed to claim the higher standard business mileage rate set by the IRS for that tax year. Think of it this way: if the IRS sets the business rate at 67 cents per mile, that’s what you get to claim for those meal deliveries, even if the general charitable rate is much lower. This change applies to all eligible miles driven starting the day the Act becomes law.
Why This Matters for Volunteers and Service Providers
For the dedicated volunteers who are already spending their gas money and time driving often long routes, this is a direct financial boost. Instead of effectively subsidizing their charitable work with a lower deduction, they get a fuller reimbursement for their vehicle expenses. This higher deduction directly addresses the rising cost of gas and vehicle maintenance, which can be a major barrier to participation. For organizations running these meal delivery programs, this could be a big deal for recruitment and retention, making it easier to keep volunteers on the road and ensuring that essential services continue to reach people who can’t leave their homes. It’s a straightforward move to support the infrastructure of social services by supporting the people who provide the labor.