When you donate to an established charity, your donations are often deductible from taxes. This gives you the opportunity to get back some extra items that you won’t use anyway. You must ensure that you keep an accurate list of all the donation items, because you must report your donation to the IRS. At the moment, all items donated to the charity must be in good or better condition. Under the old tax laws, you could get a tax benefit for donated goods simply because they had a certain value. Today, however, the standard is that all items are in a decent state and can be used again. You will have to determine the value of the goods you donate and there are various ways to do that. You can simply record the value using a pen and a paper or use computer software specifically designed to track the value of your items. You should have a list of all donated items and each item’s value.
You don’t have to convert the list to the IRS, but you should store it with the remaining tax documents. Remember also to receive a donation from the charity as proof of your donation. The donation amount will not be listed on the receipt, but will be adequately documented if you are audited. Goods between $250 and $500 must be donated by the charity in writing. This typically happens in the case of donations to vehicles or boats. In addition, if your donation is more than $500, you must submit your regular tax return with Form 8283.
