HOA
From Listings to Living
The draft budget has a new line: $3,000 a year for "director stipends." The board calls it a modest thank-you for the hours. Some owners shrug. Others want to know whether a board can vote itself money at all.
Do HOA board members get paid? In most associations, no. Directors and officers usually serve as unpaid volunteers, and several states restrict pay unless the governing documents or the owners authorize it. Florida's homeowners association statute bars directors, officers and committee members from receiving a salary or compensation for their service, with exceptions that include reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses, compensation authorized in the governing documents and compensation approved in advance by a majority of the voting interests voting at a members' meeting (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(12)).
The volunteer model runs on a lot of unpaid time. The Foundation for Community Association Research counts 2,555,000 elected board members and appointed committee members in U.S. community associations in 2025, contributing 102.6 million volunteer hours a year, which it values at $3.6 billion (2025 Statistical Review).
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The first answer always comes from the governing documents. Bylaws typically describe the officers, their duties and their compensation, if any, and many say plainly that directors serve without pay. Florida's condominium act requires the bylaws to specify the powers, duties, manner of selection and removal, and compensation, if any, of officers and the board, and it provides that unless the bylaws say otherwise, officers serve without compensation and at the pleasure of the board (Fla. Stat. § 718.112).
Volunteer service is the norm for practical reasons too. Owners tend to distrust a board that pays itself from their assessments. Liability protections in federal and state law are written around volunteers. And once a director is paid, every vote that touches the budget starts to look like a conflict of interest.
No federal law sets HOA board pay. State rules differ widely, and many states leave the question to the governing documents and general nonprofit law. A few examples show the range:
| State | What the statute says about board pay | What still works |
|---|---|---|
| Florida, homeowners associations (ch. 720) | No salary or compensation for directors, officers or committee members, and no other financial benefit from service | Expense reimbursement; benefits shared by all or many members; pay authorized in the governing documents or approved in advance by a majority of voting interests at a members' meeting |
| Florida, condominiums (ch. 718) | Officers serve without compensation unless the bylaws provide otherwise | Whatever the bylaws authorize, within the conflict of interest rules |
| California (Davis-Stirling Act) | Ties a director's personal liability shield to volunteer status and expressly treats expense reimbursement as consistent with it | Expense reimbursement; anything the documents allow, at the risk of the volunteer shield if pay is involved |
| Texas (Property Code ch. 209) | Focuses on contracts between the association and board members or their relatives, with bid and recusal rules | Check the bylaws and Texas nonprofit law for anything beyond contracts |
The Texas contracting rules, along with the conflict rules in Florida and California, are covered in our guide to HOA board responsibilities and fiduciary duties. So do HOA board members get paid where you live? Read your own statute and bylaws before assuming a stipend is either banned or fine.
Paying a director back for money spent on the association's behalf is a different thing from paying for service, and the law treats it that way. Florida's prohibition expressly allows reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses, subject to the approval procedure in the governing documents or, if there is none, one the board sets. California's volunteer liability statute says the payment of actual expenses a director or officer incurs in the duties of the position does not affect volunteer status (Cal. Civ. Code § 5800). The federal definition of a volunteer likewise excludes reasonable reimbursement or allowance for expenses actually incurred.
The word doing the work in all three is actual. A director who buys pool chemicals in an emergency, pays for postage on a ballot mailing or drives to a county office for records can be reimbursed with a receipt. A flat $100 monthly "allowance" that nobody ties to receipts looks like a stipend under another name. A clean reimbursement policy has a written approval process, requires documentation, and has someone other than the person being reimbursed sign off.
Compensation is broader than a paycheck. The federal Volunteer Protection Act defines a volunteer as someone who does not receive compensation, other than reasonable reimbursement or allowance for expenses actually incurred, or any other thing of value in lieu of compensation in excess of $500 per year (42 U.S.C. § 14505). Florida's HOA statute goes further and says a director may not in any other way benefit financially from service to the association.
| Arrangement | Usually treated as | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Reimbursement of documented expenses | Not compensation | Allowed in Florida and California, and excluded from the federal volunteer definition |
| Fixed stipend per meeting or per month | Compensation | Needs authority in the documents or an owner vote where the statute requires it |
| Salary for a director or officer | Compensation | Unusual; communities that need full-time leadership usually hire a manager instead |
| Waiver or discount of the director's own dues | A thing of value | Can count against the federal $500 threshold and may be taxable |
| Free work on a director's unit by association vendors | A financial benefit, and possibly a kickback | Prohibited outright in Florida when it comes from a vendor without consideration |
The dues waiver deserves attention because boards often treat it as harmless. Say the assessment is $450 a month. A full waiver is then worth $5,400 a year to the director, more than ten times the federal threshold, and every other owner covers the gap.
When owners sue over a fine, a repair decision or an election, directors are sometimes named alongside the association. The protections against personal liability mostly assume the director is a volunteer.
The federal Volunteer Protection Act of 1997. The Act shields a volunteer of a nonprofit organization from liability for harm caused by an act or omission when the volunteer was acting within the scope of his or her responsibilities, was properly licensed if a license was required, and did not cause the harm through willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless misconduct or a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the person harmed. It does not cover harm caused while operating a motor vehicle that requires a license or insurance (42 U.S.C. § 14503). One caution: the Act defines a nonprofit organization as a 501(c)(3) entity or one organized for public benefit and operated primarily for charitable, civic, educational, religious, welfare or health purposes. Whether a particular homeowners association fits that definition is a question for an attorney.
State statutes. California's version is more specific to associations. It protects a volunteer officer or director of a residential association from personal liability for acts or omissions within the scope of the role when the director acted in good faith, did not act willfully, wantonly or with gross negligence, and the association carried both general liability and directors and officers coverage of at least $500,000 for developments of 100 or fewer separate interests, or $1,000,000 for larger ones. The protection applies to directors who are tenants or who own no more than two separate interests.
Directors and officers insurance. A D&O policy pays defense costs and covered claims against board members for their decisions. It is often the backstop that matters most in practice. If your association starts paying directors, ask the broker whether the policy's definition of an insured person or any exclusion is affected.
Money paid for serving on a board is income. The IRS tells taxpayers to include fees for services in income, lists fees received as a corporate director among its examples, and states that corporate director fees are self-employment income reported on Schedule C (IRS Publication 525). That generally means self-employment tax as well as income tax.
Non-cash arrangements do not escape the rule. Publication 525 requires taxpayers to include in income the fair market value of property or services received in bartering. A dues waiver granted in exchange for board service is the kind of arrangement a tax preparer will ask about. The association may also have information-reporting obligations for payments it makes. Before a board approves any stipend or waiver, it should get written advice from the association's CPA, and a director receiving one should raise it with his or her own tax preparer.
Some benefits of serving are fine. Others cross the line quickly, and Florida draws the line with criminal penalties. An officer, director or manager of a Florida HOA who knowingly solicits or accepts a kickback, meaning any thing or service of value from a current or prospective vendor for which no consideration was provided, commits a third-degree felony, and the board must remove that officer or director. The statute carves out food consumed at a business meeting worth less than $25 per person and goods or services received at trade fairs or education programs (Fla. Stat. § 720.3033).
Generally appropriate:
Generally not appropriate:
Boards that consider a stipend usually have a real problem: too much work for volunteers. Paying directors rarely fixes it, and it adds conflict, tax and liability questions. The more common fix is to buy the work from professionals. A management company or an on-site manager handles collections, vendors and owner requests under a contract the board supervises. Our guide to what HOA management companies do and how they are paid covers that option. Management fees are a real line in the budget, which is part of why HOA fees climb, but the cost is visible and the manager answers to the board.
If owners still want to compensate directors, do it in the open. Put the authority in the governing documents or hold the owner vote your statute requires, set the amount in advance, check the D&O policy and get tax advice first.
Whether HOA board members get paid in a specific community is answered by records, not rumors. Work through them in this order:
Budget lines show what was approved. Residents know what actually happened, such as the director whose unit got new windows in the same month as the building's window contract. Ask them on Ask a Resident.
Compensation problems rarely show up as a line labeled "salary," so ask people who have watched this board over several budget cycles.
Listings show the property, but they rarely explain the lived reality around it. On Leevli, a mover can explore the city, review neighborhood and building information, and ask a verified resident the specific questions that remain unanswered. That human layer helps readers know what to investigate before signing a lease, making an offer, or choosing between two addresses.
Usually not. Most bylaws make directors and officers unpaid volunteers, and some states restrict compensation by statute. Florida's homeowners association law bars directors, officers and committee members from salary or compensation unless the governing documents authorize it or a majority of voting interests approves it in advance at a members' meeting. Florida condominium officers serve without compensation unless the bylaws provide otherwise.
In many communities, not on its own. If the bylaws are silent or say directors serve without pay, a board vote alone generally will not be enough. In Florida HOAs, compensation needs authority in the governing documents or advance approval by a majority of voting interests at a members' meeting. The common mistake is a board slipping a stipend into the budget and treating budget adoption as authorization.
Yes, for actual expenses incurred on the association's behalf. Florida allows reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses under the approval procedure in the governing documents or one the board sets. California states that paying actual expenses does not affect a director's volunteer status. Keep receipts, get approval from someone other than the person being reimbursed, and avoid flat allowances that are not tied to real costs.
It depends on the state and the documents, but a waiver is treated as something of value, not a neutral courtesy. Florida bars HOA directors from benefiting financially from service unless an exception applies. Under the federal Volunteer Protection Act, a thing of value worth more than $500 a year can take a director outside the volunteer definition. A waiver may also be taxable income to the director.
Mostly non-financial ones: a say in how the community is run, earlier knowledge of upcoming projects and the experience. Appropriate tangible benefits are limited to reimbursed expenses, education, D&O insurance coverage and benefits shared by all owners. Florida even caps the meal a director can accept at a business meeting at under $25 per person, and treats vendor gifts beyond that as potential kickbacks.
Yes. IRS Publication 525 says fees for services, including fees received as a corporate director, are income, and that corporate director fees are self-employment income reported on Schedule C. Non-cash value received in exchange for services, such as a waiver of assessments, can also be income. The director should talk to a tax preparer and the association should consult its CPA about reporting.
Possibly, but not automatically. The 1997 federal Act protects unpaid volunteers of qualifying nonprofits who act within the scope of their role and do not engage in willful misconduct or gross negligence. It defines qualifying nonprofits as 501(c)(3) organizations or groups operated primarily for charitable, civic and similar purposes, so whether a given HOA qualifies is a legal question. State statutes and D&O insurance usually carry more weight.
California Civil Code section 5800 shields volunteer officers and directors of residential associations from personal liability for acts or omissions within the scope of their duties if they acted in good faith and the association carries liability and D&O coverage of at least $500,000 for 100 or fewer separate interests, or $1,000,000 for more. The shield applies to tenants and to owners of no more than two separate interests.
Sometimes, with safeguards that vary by state. Florida requires disclosure, approval by two-thirds of the directors present and disclosure to the members, who can cancel by majority vote. Texas requires at least two competing bids and keeps the interested director out of the discussion and the vote. Florida also treats any vendor gift to a director without consideration as a potential felony kickback.
If the compensation rule sits in the bylaws or declaration, changing it means an amendment, which needs the owner approval percentage those documents set and often a notice period before the vote. That usually takes at least one meeting cycle. In a Florida HOA, an alternative is an advance owner vote approving a specific fee at a members' meeting, which still requires proper notice.
Editorial review: verify current federal and state law, insurance regulations, HOA and condominium statutes, and lender guidelines before relying on any single claim. This article is informational and does not constitute legal, financial, tax or insurance advice.
