Any lost wage reimbursement over $600 is taxable. Reimbursement for travel, lodging, meals, and dependent care is not taxable—it is not included in your taxable income and you do not have to report it on your tax return. If you have received lost wage reimbursement through Donor Shield, you will receive a 1099 from the National Kidney Registry. The 1099 is legally mandated to be postmarked by January 31 of the year following the receipt of reimbursement. If you do not receive a 1099 by January 31, please contact us.
FAQ: Cost Reimbursement
Cost reimbursement for donors includes lost wages up to $2,000 per week for up to six weeks ($12,000 maximum) and up to $6,000 for donation-related costs for travel, lodging, and meals (for the donor and a caregiver) and dependent care (for children or adult dependents of the donor) when the donor is away from home during the donation process and when they are home recovering after the donation surgery. The maximum reimbursement per donor, per donation, is $18,000.
All donors who donate through a National Kidney Registry exchange or participating Donor Shield Direct Center receive a comprehensive set of protections, including reimbursement for lost wages and travel, lodging, meals, and dependent-care costs. To read about these protections, see: Donor Protections.
No, Donor Shield does not require your intended kidney transplant recipient to provide any financial information in order for you to qualify for financial assistance and other support and protections through Donor Shield. As a patient in kidney failure, your recipient has enough to deal with without having to gather financial documentation and provide details about their household income. In most cases, the transplant recipient’s insurance will cover some or all of the medical costs incurred by the donor. Donors who incur additional costs not covered by insurance should not have to ask their transplant recipients to cover their costs, and they should not have to bear those costs themselves. Donor Shield was designed to cover those costs.
No, Donor Shield is not the only donor assistance program. There are various types of assistance, but the two main programs are the National Kidney Registry’s Donor Shield program and the National Living Donor Assistance Center (NLDAC). NLDAC also offers lost wage reimbursement and covers expenses related to donation-related travel and dependent care. However, it offers a maximum of $6,000 in financial assistance, while Donor Shield offers a maximum of $18,000. NLDAC also requires donors and recipients to submit financial information, with donor eligibility for financial assistance tied to the income of the recipient. Donor Shield requires no financial or income information from the recipient, and eligibility is not tied to income for either the donor or the recipient.
Yes, Donor Shield is available to all donors who qualify by donating through the National Kidney Registry at an NKR Member Center (this includes family voucher, standard voucher, and paired exchange donations) or through a Donor Shield Direct transplant center. There is no income cap and you do not have to prove financial hardship to receive reimbursement for lost wages or expenses for travel, lodging, meals, or dependent care through Donor Shield. In addition, neither the donor nor the recipient is required to provide financial or income information (other than documentation of your wages to determine your lost wage reimbursement) and eligibility is not tied to income for either the donor or the recipient.
Donor Shield offers reimbursement for lost wages and expenses for donation-related travel, lodging, meals, and dependent care. Covered travel expenses include transportation (taxi, ride share, car rental, parking), mileage (IRS medical mileage rate), lodging (hotel, motel, Airbnb, etc.), and meals. Covered dependent-care expenses include child or adult day care, before- and after-school care, in-home care and summer day camp. Reimbursements to the donor are via ACH to U.S. bank accounts that are maintained in the name of the donor.
Donor Shield will reimburse donors for meal costs incurred during donation-related travel, including travel to and from the transplant center for testing and surgery. Meals for an accompanying caregiver are also covered. Meals when the donor is home recovering from surgery are covered. Receipts are required for all meal reimbursements. Meal reimbursements are included in the $6,000 maximum total reimbursement for travel, lodging, meals, and dependent care. Reimbursements to the donor are via ACH to U.S. bank accounts that are maintained in the name of the donor.
Expenses for gas are not covered by Donor Shield.
All post-donation reimbursements for travel, lodging, meals, and dependent care are made via ACH within approximately 10 business days after submission of receipts. Reimbursements to the donor are via ACH to U.S. bank accounts that are maintained in the name of the donor.
Whether a person is a U.S. citizen or a resident alien, in order to lawfully be employed, one MUST have a Social Security Number. The SSN allows the National Kidney Registry to be certain that the individual is legally employed and eligible for lost wage reimbursement. Additionally, the SSN is required when the NKR distributes tax documents specific to the donor at the end of the year.
No, you do not need to provide ACH information or any additional documentation if you are not requesting cost reimbursement. You are automatically enrolled in the other protections.
All donors are required to provide the following when submitting a request for lost wage reimbursement:
- Two most recent paystubs
- Tax return from previous year
- ACH bank information (account number and routing number) for the account to which you want the reimbursement disbursed
Reimbursements to the donor are via ACH to U.S. bank accounts that are maintained in the name of the donor.
At your earliest convenience, ask your transplant social worker or transplant coordinator to resend the invitation to you. Please double-check that all ACH information has been accurately entered before clicking “Continue.”
If you are self-employed, you need to provide form 1040, 1099, 941 or a K1 form. Reimbursements to the donor are via ACH to U.S. bank accounts that are maintained in the name of the donor.
You are required to upload paystubs for all jobs, and they all must have the same or overlapping pay period dates.
If you do not have a scanner, you can ask your transplant social worker or transplant coordinator for assistance in uploading the requested forms and receipts, or you can use a scanner at a public library.
Lost wage reimbursement only covers wages lost due to the kidney donation. A donor who is not currently working at the time of kidney donation will not lose wages due to the donation. Unemployment benefits are not covered under the lost wage reimbursement program.
This must be requested by the transplant center through the NKR system after the donor has received the first two weeks of lost wage reimbursement. Donors are eligible for up to a total of six weeks of reimbursement.
All lost wage reimbursements are made via ACH within approximately 10 business days after submission of proper documentation. Reimbursements to the donor are via ACH to U.S. bank accounts that are maintained in the name of the donor.
Payments are made via ACH (direct payment to your bank). Payment will come from the law firm of Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh, P.C., which has been retained by the NKR to manage the Donor Shield reimbursement process. Reimbursements to the donor are via ACH to U.S. bank accounts that are maintained in the name of the donor.
The NKR has been approved to offer a maximum of six weeks of wage reimbursement per donor. No exceptions can be made at this time.
Yes. Donor Shield reimbursement for lost wages and travel and dependent care expenses are available up the the maximum amount per donation. While other living donor reimbursement programs, like NLDAC, have a maximum lifetime cap (in the case of NLDAC, $6,000) for the reimbursement of donation-related expenses, Donor Shield offers a maximum of $18,000 for both living kidney donation and living liver donation. That means you could donate a kidney and receive the maximum reimbursement of $18,000, then become a living liver donor and receive an additional $18,000 in reimbursement.
Lost wage reimbursement is only available to donors with a valid Employer Identification Number (EIN) or Social Security Number (SSN). The other Donor Shield protections do not require an EIN or SSN. Any reimbursements to the donor are via ACH to U.S. bank accounts that are maintained in the name of the donor.