# The DELIVER Act of 2024: What It Means for Meal Delivery Volunteers

This bill is about helping volunteers who deliver meals to elderly and disabled people get better tax breaks for their driving. Right now, when volunteers drive to deliver meals to homebound seniors or people with disabilities, they can deduct the mileage from their taxes, but they get a lower rate than people who drive for business purposes. This bill would let meal delivery volunteers use the higher "business mileage rate" instead, which means they'd get a bigger tax deduction for every mile they drive.

To understand why this matters, imagine a volunteer who drives 500 miles a month delivering meals through a program like Meals on Wheels. Currently, they might deduct those miles at a charitable rate, which is lower than the standard business rate. Under this bill, they'd use the higher business rate, which could save them real money on their taxes at the end of the year. The difference might not sound huge per mile, but it adds up quickly for regular volunteers who make multiple deliveries each week.

This is a pretty straightforward change that's meant to encourage more people to volunteer for meal delivery programs. By giving volunteers a better tax incentive, the bill's supporters hope more people will step up to help deliver meals to vulnerable people in their communities who can't easily get out to buy food themselves. The change takes effect immediately once the bill becomes law and applies to all miles driven from that point forward.

DELIVER Act of 2024

Delivering Elderly Lunches and Increasing Volunteer Engagement and Reimbursements Act of 2024 or the DELIVER Act of 2024This bill increases the standard mileage rate for the tax deduction for the charitable use of a passenger automobile to deliver meals to homebound individuals who are elderly, disabled, frail, or at risk. The bill increases the rate from the standard charitable rate of 14 cents per mile to the standard business mileage rate, which is 67 cents per mile for 2024.