Hw to donate clothing

December 19, 2005 10:12 PM

I want to donate about few dozen clothings (shirts, pants, suites, sweaters, maybe some lamps)

To be honest, it is more for tax deduction than charity from my end.
How does it work? and would it impact my deduction considerably.? I think I can find Savlation Army and Goodwill near my place... but should I just go to Salvation Army Thrift store and unload my stuff?
Do they count and give list of value of my items in receipt?
or do they just write down how many pairs of what?
Do I then fill the value myself?
I am leaving out of state for a month in two days.. so.. I would like to do this right away for this year's income tax return.... so I want to make sure everything goes smoothly...

Say.. if my one's income is in 90,000 or so in normal job and an average condo, would this help with deductions?

posted by curiousleo to work & money (10 comments total)

Also.. Where should I go for easiest and most value out of my items... ? (don't have time to ebay..)
posted by curiousleo at 10:13 PM on December 19, 2005

You might want to say where you live.
posted by acoutu at 10:34 PM on December 19, 2005

The Salvation Army has a valuation guide on their web site, which I've used as a template for donating elsewhere. I figured the value of the stuff before I dropped it off--the places I donated didn't do it for me. BUT, don't expect much of a deduction; the value will be for much less than what you paid.
posted by brujita at 10:57 PM on December 19, 2005

I'm not totally sure on the tax specifics, but I have donated a fair amount of stuff to Goodwill in the past.

Usually, the way it works is you'll drop off your items at a donation place and the staff will provide you with a receipt if you want one. Sometimes, but not every time, they'll make a note on the receipt about how/what you dropped off - but its usually very general, like "2 bags clothing". As for putting a monetary value on your donation, that's always put on you - goodwill/SA can't assess that for you.

So, come tax time, the responsibility is pretty much all on you to report the value of your donations. Here's the relevant IRS document for determining the value of donations. Keep in mind, the rule of thumb is whatever the clothing/goods would sell for secondhand is the value you can claim (and NOT the original cost of the goods), so the impact on your taxes may be negligible at best (IANAAccountant).
posted by dicaxpuella at 11:03 PM on December 19, 2005

Every thrift shop I have ever donated to just handed me a blank receipt and let me fill in the items left and their values. No one is going to hold your old clothes up and price them on the spot.
posted by Scram at 11:07 PM on December 19, 2005

The way I've always read the IRS's guidelines on deducting charitable contributions [Topic 506], you don't even need a receipt if the value's under $250 (though it's nice for your records). They have never questioned my valuations (I usually give between $150 to $200 in donations and cash to Goodwill each year.) I am not an accountant so check with yours to make sure doing what OG does won't get you in trouble with John Law.

Anyway, what Goodwill in CT does is consistent with what Scram said, so there's another data point for you.

As for helping you with taxes; if you're already itemizing deductions, or the contributions will put you over the standard deduction, then contributions will help. See the previous link and this one from the IRS. But it's good karma whether or not it helps out your taxes.
posted by Opposite George at 11:21 PM on December 19, 2005

You're making $90k and you want to tax-deduct old-clothing donations?

Many SPCAs (society for the preventation of animals) have thrift shops - in my experience, they tend to be a lot better at coming to pick up stuff than the salvation army or big brothers/sisters, the developmentally disables, &c.

If you're worried about money, you'll probably make/save more money by consigning your clothes than by donating them.

If you want the tax-deduction angle, your local Children's Hospital (if they have a thrift shop) might know more about the paperwork angle (doc's donating clothing that their kids have outgrown).
posted by PurplePorpoise at 11:37 PM on December 19, 2005

Many SPCAs (society for the preventation of animals)

prevention of cruelty to animals that is... :)

And I'm guessing you're not going to get much of a useful deduction out of this, if you're making 90k a year already. Unless the second-hand value of your clothes is like 5k.
posted by antifuse at 4:43 AM on December 20, 2005

The tax deduction is useful only if you itemize. It can make sense to itemize every other year, and bulk up donations in those years. It's also a form of recycling; so it's worth doing, in addition to being good for people who are less fortunate.
posted by theora55 at 6:45 AM on December 20, 2005

I second theora55. A good program that I use is "It's Deductable". It more than pays for itself in what I save in my taxes (It's relatively cheap anyway).
posted by wisdom-seeker at 10:40 AM on December 20, 2005