lonely planet -volunteer abroad guide

Paying your credit card bills while you are away is simple. There are three ways to do it: you
can arrange for them to be paid by a friend who has access to one of your accounts; you can
set up a direct debit for either the minimum payment, the full amount or a fixed amount;
or you can pay the bills online. It’s a good idea to alert your credit card company before you
go abroad, because your user pattern will change and you don’t want your card provider to
assume the card has been stolen and cancel it.
Amanda Allen-Toland, who volunteered in Thailand for a year, found credit card fees to
be a headache:

Unfortunately I didn’t plan well and got stung by overseas credit card withdrawal fees. As
a volunteer, that really hurts. Before you go, look into setting up an account with a bank
that doesn’t charge steep fees.

Direct Debits & Standing Orders
Go through any reccurring payments you have and reassess them; cancel ones you don’t
need and set up new ones. Have you remembered to sort your car repayments, for example?

Insurance Policies & Income Protection

Check your life or private health insurance policy for any exclusions before you go, as
certain insurance companies deny cover if you are going to ‘undesirable’ areas like South
America or Africa. Be aware that getting insured after you’ve returned home from these
areas can be difficult – although don’t let this deter you from going! It is unlikely that
you’ll be able to suspend payments while you are away, as most policies become void if you
fail to make regular payments, but some companies are more flexible. In Australia, check
with your tax adviser regarding suspending private health insurance, as pausing payments
may have implications at tax time.

Maintenance Payments
Before you go abroad you should notify your child support agency, if relevant, other-
wise you risk building up arrears. Your payments will be reassessed on the basis of your

volunteer status. You should also contact the agency again on your return. In the USA, the

1998 Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act stipulates jail time for those with child support

obligations unpaid for longer than one year; check with your state’s enforcement agency

about how to continue payments from abroad.

Subscriptions

If you’re going away for a long time remember to cancel subscriptions to newspapers and

magazines. If you’re going to be volunteering in a developing country, of course, your me-

dia diet may be limited, so consider taking out subscriptions to international publications

like The Economist or TIME Magazine.

Taxation & National Insurance

Tax

Completing a tax return is the last thing you want to be doing while you are volunteering

overseas. If you can, deal with it before you go. If you do need to file a tax return while you

are away, work out exactly how you’re going to do this. If possible, pick up a form from

your local tax office, fill it in and post it off before you go or complete one online. In the

UK, you can file your return online via the Inland Revenue website (www.inlandrevenue.gov

.uk). US and Canadian citizens can ‘e-file’ their federal income tax payments online using

privately produced software (some of which you can obtain for free). For Americans, the

Internal Revenue Service website has comprehensive information (www.irs.gov); Canadians

should check out the Canada Revenue Agency’s site (www.cra-arc.gc.ca). Australians can file

their tax returns online with the Australian Taxation Office (www.ato.gov.au). The Austra-

lian Taxation Office also has a guide for volunteers called Volunteers and Tax (www

.ato.gov.au/nonprofit/content.asp?doc=/content/8729.htm) which will be helpful. New

Zealanders should check out their Inland Revenue website (www.ird.govt.nz).

Your tax status is unlikely to be changed by volunteering internationally if the break is

for less than a complete financial year, but check this with a tax adviser or your local tax

office. You should also seek advice if you intend to earn money abroad to support your

volunteering, or if you intend to dispose of any assets (eg your home or shares) before

leaving or while abroad.

If you are resigning from your job, your employer will give you a certificate which shows

your total taxable earnings and the amount of tax paid for the current tax year. Hang onto

this as you’ll need it to claim any tax refund and future employers may also need it.

National Insurance

For UK residents, sorting out your National Insurance (NI) situation before volunteer-

ing internationally for an extended period is vital. If you don’t catch up on payments you

miss, you may not be entitled to full maternity or unemployment benefits, or to a full state

pension upon retirement. If you are volunteering abroad for less than a year, however, it

is unlikely to affect your national insurance history. If you are going abroad for longer you

may have to make voluntary contributions while you are away. An organised volunteering

programme like VSO (p94) will pay your contributions for you.

House

If you’re an older volunteer, you may own a house or flat that you’ll be leaving behind. In

this case you may choose to let it, leave it empty (rather dodgy, particularly as regards your

insurance) or even sell it. If you’re renting, you’ll probably simply give notice and put your

stuff into storage.

Photo: http://www.biosphere-expeditions.org

Say ‘ah’ – a volunteer assists with cheetah monitoring in the Namibian savannah

04: Tying Up Loose Ends:

Taxation & National Insurance