Yes, and no...it depends.I am assigned to a NOSC as part of VTU, where I get paid for any funerals that I can participate in. Can I work with a different NOSC and get paid to do more funerals on the side? This may seem like double dipping, but I want to use any and all resources that are available.
Well spoken WOMF! The DTS point is well taken, since in the IRR we don't have access so travel outside 50 miles creates lots of problems.
I am curious, and I guess I'll ask. You mention $ being an issue, so does rank have anything to do with how many funerals one does? I'm asked to do about four a month (which is pretty much perfect for my schedule), but I know some of the E-5's are doing 16/mo. I guess the neurotic side of me is unsure if I should be doing something different.
For any IRR sailors reading this, you should definitely think about funeral honors. I did 2.5 years SELRES, I feel like I've contributed much more to the country by providing funeral honors than I did in my SELRES unit. It's amazing how spouses/sons/daughters/whomever can appear totally together before the ceremony, and then lose it as the bugle plays and we present the flag. In fact, I'm curious how other countries handle this, since I'm 100% certain this is something we've got right. Anyway...
When I checked into my command, I was told by one of the NOSC FTS funeral honors detail members that if I keep track of all my miles for doing funerals and drills throughout the year, I can write that off on my taxes. Is this true? I tried looking that up and I cannot find anything that supports that statement.
About halfway down this page you will find the details.
All the after action reports you submit for pay list your (self reported) mileage. I claim my mileage, and my tax is super conservative, so I think it's ok.Got it. So this means that I cannot just tally up all the miles I have traveled for all the funerals and report that? Do I have to live more than 50 miles one way just to report it for tax purposes? This is what the petty officer was referring to.
Do you know if there's a minimum for that write off? I tried for the "off site" commuting write off this year and you have to exceed 2% of your AGI to use the deduction. For most O's that translates to a metric SHload of miles.
Edit: If you're intending to do this kind of write off, I'd recommend keeping a diligent log of your mileage either on a notepad in your car or on your iPhone.
Purely out of cureosity, how much do you make for doing a funeral? I didn't know this was a thing...
Got it. So this means that I cannot just tally up all the miles I have traveled for all the funerals and report that? Do I have to live more than 50 miles one way just to report it for tax purposes? This is what the petty officer was referring to.