Eligible High Schools

• If the high school you make the donation to is a public school, meaning your state or local government is responsible for its finances, then your donation will certainly qualify for a deduction. However, you need to do some investigating when you make the donation to a private high school, since not all operate as nonprofits. First, the IRS requires the high school to only operate in the areas of education, literacy, science, religion or even charity. If the high school is involved in other types of activities, it will not qualify. For example, even if the school primarily serves the educational needs of students and operates as a nonprofit organization, too much political activity may preclude it from accepting deductible donations.
  
  

Property Donations

• Figuring out your deduction when you donate cash is easy since in most cases, you just add up the dollar amount to figure out your deduction. But if you make donations of property to the high school, such as household items or used clothes, you need to determine what each item is worth before you can calculate your deduction. The IRS does not generally require you to determine worth in any specific way, but it does require that the value reasonably relate to what a buyer would pay for the item in the open market. Taking used clothing for example, the IRS suggests that you inquire what some local thrift stores are charging customers for comparable items.
  
  

Are You Benefiting

• One thing you also need to consider is whether you receive any type of benefit or gift from the high school that has more than a token value. This is because the IRS requires you to reduce your deduction by the value of any gift or benefit you receive. For example, suppose you make a $10,000 cash donation to your son's private high school, and in exchange, the high school takes $1,000 off your tuition bill this year. In this case, your maximum deduction for this donation is $9,000.
  
  

Itemizing Deductions

• Only those taxpayers who choose to itemize their deductions on Schedule A can claim a charitable contribution deduction for their donations to a high school. Generally, you can determine whether you are able to itemize by totaling all of your expenses that are eligible deductions, including your donations. If the total is greater than the standard deduction for your filing status, then your tax savings will be greater when you itemize. If you are unable to itemize this year, make sure you keep records of your donations since you can use them in any of the next five years that you are able to itemize.