Turbotax tip for clothing donations

[roadtripper]

Every year, I bring bags of clothes to Goodwill or the Salvation Army and get a receipt so I can claim them on my tax return. I put in "thrift shop value" for their worth. Well, this year, I kept track of what was in the bags so I could use ItsDeductible in turbotax (it's free). All I can say is WOW! Things I would have estimated at 1.00 (thinking of yard sale/thrift store prices) came up as 8or 9 dollars each. Even women's T shirts were 3.00 each. My bags of clothes came out to be worth 447.00 (which they would never bring at a yard sale).

So if you're using turbotax, use ItsDeductible-- they give a much higher value than I was giving myself. Every little bit helps, right?

 

[ceemys]

I've done this also! Really helps with the deductions!

 

[lisa-upnorth]

I figured I would enter around $100 for the bags I brought but decided to use the turbo tax price and it came to over $700

 

[bdcp]

That's how we do it every year. We write down everything we donate, not just clothing and then use turbotax. The thrift store we donate to is run by our church. I'm betting we have $1,000 in donations this year.

 

[trustknoone]

Wow I did not know that, it's too late for me on 2010 but I have my list started for 2011.

Thanks for sharing the tip

 

[Thump2250]

Is there a limit on how much you can claim for donations?

I have used Itsdeductible for the past several years and I love it. It really does give you a better value than you would give it yourself!

 

[HM]

We don't use Turbo Tax. We use TaxCut....I don't think they have a program like that. I do print a list of prices that Goodwill suggests and use that to work out what we should be getting from the list of what we donated (I write everything down before be bag/box it and donate).

 

[Tiger926]

Wow! As Canadians we can't do this, and am I envious. We give away everything, and we only buy high end, name brand stuff, so that would be a very large amount.

Congrats on helping out people in your community! Tiger

 

[sydneysmom]

thank you SO much for posting this !!

we gave a ton to the Salvation Army last year and got a receipt and I listed everything that was in the bags. I haven't started doing our taxes yet, but you helped me tremendously. I would have way underestimated, for sure. I didn't realize that It's Deductible was free !! this is fantastic ! thank you !!!

 

[roadtripper]

thank you SO much for posting this !!

we gave a ton to the Salvation Army last year and got a receipt and I listed everything that was in the bags. I haven't started doing our taxes yet, but you helped me tremendously. I would have way underestimated, for sure. I didn't realize that It's Deductible was free !! this is fantastic ! thank you !!!

You're quite welcome! Hope it helps a lot of DISers, since the DIS has helped (and entertained) me a lot!

Just an example from ItsDeductible--a woman's camisole in medium condition is "worth" 9 dollars. I don't know who sets the prices, but it works for me!

 

[tlbwriter]

I love It's Deductible! And they say they work with the IRS, who has agreed to accept their values, so no worries that you'll have to justify the amount.

 

[RMAMom]

Does the receipt need to be itemized or does it just say clothing or household item?

 

[ANNABETH]

This is very interesting to me. I don't use TurboTax, however, I would really like to see this list. Can I go onto TurboTax and see it, without actually doing my taxes there ? I donated a bunch of stuff in 2010 and have lists of what was in all 15 bags but didn't have a price to go with each item. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[librarygal]

From the IRS web page:

For any contribution of $250 or more (including contributions of cash or property), you must obtain and keep in your records a contemporaneous written acknowledgment from the qualified organization indicating the amount of the cash and a description of any property contributed. The acknowledgment must say whether the organization provided any goods or services in exchange for the gift and, if so, must provide a description and a good faith estimate of the value of those goods or services. One document from the qualified organization may satisfy both the written communication requirement for monetary gifts and the contemporaneous written acknowledgment requirement for all contributions of $250 or more.

 

[Crystal824]

This is what I do too. It really helps. When I get my stuff ready to go to Goodwill or the Salvation Army, I do a little inventory so I have the information at tax time.

 

[crisi]

From the IRS web page:

For any contribution of $250 or more (including contributions of cash or property), you must obtain and keep in your records a contemporaneous written acknowledgment from the qualified organization indicating the amount of the cash and a description of any property contributed. The acknowledgment must say whether the organization provided any goods or services in exchange for the gift and, if so, must provide a description and a good faith estimate of the value of those goods or services. One document from the qualified organization may satisfy both the written communication requirement for monetary gifts and the contemporaneous written acknowledgment requirement for all contributions of $250 or more.

We keep each contribution of household goods/clothing under $250, but have multiple sets of donations.

 

[FourBees]

So I bring lots of bags of clothing each year to the Planet Aid Boxes (the yellow ones). So can I use that as a charitable donation? TIA

 

[Green Tea]

It's not just great for clothing donations. I do list the items I donate there, but also any monetary or other charitable gifts thru out the year. An easy click and all are imported into Turbo Tax.

 

[tlbwriter]

Does the receipt need to be itemized or does it just say clothing or household item?

In my case, the receipt is not itemized, but I keep my own itemized list. The place I take my donations does not offer itemized receipts.

 

[amamax2]

Like the PP, I keep an itemized list since where we donate doesn't itemize - I also take a picture of all the items in a pile before I bag it, then staple all of it together (list, picture, receipt) - "just in case."