- 1). Gather receipts from charitable organizations. Typically, the organization will sign for receipt of goods, but determining the clothing value is your responsibility. You should determine the value at the time of donation, but if you have not already done so, you'll have to handle it as part of your tax preparation.
- 2). Separate donation items by kind, and record quantities of each. Keeping a detailed list of the donated items helps you estimate the value of the items, and provides written proof of the donation if the IRS ever requests details.
- 3). Review original receipts for donated items. Although you cannot deduct the clothing's value at the time of purchase on your taxes, it does give you a baseline for calculations. In most cases, 25 percent of the purchase price is an acceptable deduction value.
- 4). Obtain thrift store values for clothing items without receipts. Estimating clothing values for taxes means using the current fair market value of the goods. Find out what similar items sell for at your local second hand shop, and apply that value for each donated clothing item.
- 5). Use a donated value chart. Many charitable organizations publish fair market value charts for use in determining the value of donated clothing items. Although they provide a range, you must decide if your donation falls on the high or low end of the range. If you use the maximum recommended values for each item, take pictures of the items to prove the quality.
- 6). Record donations over $500 on IRS Form 8283. You must complete the form in full, including information on the original price and the purchase date of donated items.
next post