Turbotax tip for clothing donations

[tjs198]

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

Our salvation army doesn't itemize - just lists as: clothing, or household items, etc. I lay out all of the clothing items, take a photo of them, and itemize them on itsdeductible.

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.

It's made by the same company as turbo tax, Intuit - but it is not part of turbo tax - it is it's own website - itsdeductibleonline.intuit.com. it's free to use and very easy. if you do use turbo tax, it will automatically pull the info from the website and enter it on your tax return. if you use another program, you can still use it, you will just have to manually enter. you're probably out of luck for 2010 since you don't know what articles of clothing were in the bags. if you do get audited, you won't have proof.

 

[jg789]

Wow, thanks, OP. Been using turbo tax for years but never ItsDeductible - I just always estimated myself (and apparently UNDERestimated!)

 

[Mrs. Charming]

Do you need to itemize on your taxes to do this? We use the plain ol' 1040 with an online service similar to Turbo Tax. (No mortgage interest, etc, just straightforward.)

 

[Green Tea]

Do you need to itemize on your taxes to do this? We use the plain ol' 1040 with an online service similar to Turbo Tax. (No mortgage interest, etc, just straightforward.)

If you don't itemize, just take the standard deduction, I'm not sure you would get a tax wrote off for donated items, would you? I'm not sure since we have always itemized. It is 'counted' the same as cash you might donate to your church, or The American Cancer Society. ItsDeductable just gives the user a value for each item donated.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

If you don't itemize, just take the standard deduction, I'm not sure you would get a tax wrote off for donated items, would you? I'm not sure since we have always itemized. It is 'counted' the same as cash you might donate to your church, or The American Cancer Society. ItsDeductable just gives the user a value for each item donated.

I never claimed anything I donated, I just donated. Hmm, well, maybe next year! Thanks!!

 

[Shelli_5]

I started using ItsDeductible in Turbo Tax a couple of years ago & it has definitely increased the amount of my tax refunds. The key to making it work is to write down everything that you donate & make sure to save your receipts from Goodwill.

Shelli

 

[firstcruise]

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

This is what I do every year and the amount of cloths donated this year was rediculous. I did a quick look last year and the box I donate too wasn't a charitible organization or it didn't say so on the website, so it doesn't qualify for a deduction.

I don't get a receipt for my donations, so I just take the max allowed w/o a receipt and that's it. Has me thinking maybe I shouldn't be so lazy and actually get a receipt and keep a list of cloths donated! LOL

 

[mzozzietj]

Wow, I already filed for this year and used thrift store value but I'm definitely keeping track for next year. I donate all DD's clothing, shoes, toys, baby things as she outgrows them and I'm sure it's worth much more than I've estimated but I never want to put too much. I think I'll start a donation spreadsheet for 2011 and keep track of all the items we donate this year. What does it's deductible ask for when you use it? Does it want brands, sizes, things like that?

Thanks so much for the valuable tip!

 

[tessieg]

For the previous poster who mentioned Taxact:
I use it too and they do have a similar page where you can enter items and they tell you how much they are worth!

 

[imsayin]

so I just take the max allowed w/o a receipt and that's it. Has me thinking maybe I shouldn't be so lazy and actually get a receipt and keep a list of cloths donated! LOL

FYI - there is no "max allowed w/o a receipt". Your deduction is what you gave, not a random number. If you get audited they still want proof no matter what the amount.