Rethink Mexico Case Study

When the doctor considers her two week trip to Mexico doing charity work, she must first consider the expenses of her trip. While her business expenses are tax deductible, if it is greater than or equal to the amount of income she losses for going on the trip, then she may be losing money in the long run. Considering opportunity costs, the doctor gives up $8,000 in income for two weeks, however, we do not know who much she spent on business expenses. Since the goal is to make a profit in the long run, if costs exceed revenue then the doctor may need to rethink doing her charitable work in Mexico. The doctor needs to decide if doing the charitable work is greater than the loss of income. In other words, if she enjoys her two weeks in Mexico,

then for her the benefit might out weights the costs (Thomas, & Maurice, 2010).
According to the IRS, when a person volunteers for a charity, they cannot receive compensation but may be eligible to deduct certain expenses. If the charitable work has any type of pleasure component, then that is also considered not tax deductible. Loss of income is also not a tax deduction when doing charity work (IRS, n.d.). In the end, the doctor should consider the time and money spent on the trip to Mexico versus the loss of income for two weeks. The use of one’s time versus the money either lost or gained is worth considering and focusing on when it comes to doing charitable work (Macdonnell, & White, 2015).