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Spankum 
LSU Fan
Miss-sippi
Member since Jan 2007
26603 posts
| What are the tax rules concerning charitable donation of used clothing? (Posted on 12/2/12 at 1:56 pm)
I have a pile of used clothing to donate to goodwill and want to maximize my tax deduction. What is the annual limit on this type of deduction? How are these items valued? How do I doccument what I donated and the value of it all (i.e. do I need pictures, etc.)?
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Croacka
UNLV Fan
Denham Sprangs
Member since Dec 2008
37778 posts
| re: What are the tax rules concerning charitable donation of used clothing? (Posted on 12/2/12 at 5:24 pm to Spankum)
ive yet to do it, but i think the goodwill place gives you a tax form to fill out
i think you are responsible for valuing the donation, which seems like quite a loophole
i could be completely wrong on all of that though
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756
LSU Fan
Member since Sep 2004
8603 posts
| re: What are the tax rules concerning charitable donation of used clothing? (Posted on 12/2/12 at 6:10 pm to Spankum)
its fair market value and it must be in good or excellent condition
This is your best friend
Deduct it
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chuckitdeep
LSU Fan
Member since Nov 2008
355 posts
| re: What are the tax rules concerning charitable donation of used clothing? (Posted on 12/2/12 at 8:08 pm to Spankum)
I always do an item by item with price value to the side. The value should be what a like item would be priced for at Goodwill. Ex. $8 each for 10 long sleeve button up. Good condition. Everything I have ever donated is good or excellent condition. I think the max is $500 a year without having receipts, etc. My CPA always says don't cheat yourself on deductions just be able to prove it.
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Poodlebrain
LSU Fan
Way Right of Rex
Member since Jan 2004
12701 posts
| re: What are the tax rules concerning charitable donation of used clothing? (Posted on 12/2/12 at 10:11 pm to Spankum)
You can claim up to $500 wiithout providing any detail of what sort if non-cash contributions you made. If you claim over $500 then you must attach a Form 8283 providing detail of who, what, where, when and how much you donated. The Form 8283 does not provide enough space to detail out what specific items you donated. I usually use descriptions like Clothing, Toys, Household Goods, Furniture without providing specifics. If you claim a deduction of $5,000 or more, then you have to have an appraisal report.
Goodwill, St Vincent de Paul and the other big charities have forms they weill give you to document your contribution. In general they do not inventory what you donated and leave it to you to provide the detail. The IRS isn't in the habit of challenging deductions for charitable contributions as the tax revenue isn't worth the bad publicity has been my experience.
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TigerDeBaiter
LSU Fan
Member since Dec 2010
2374 posts
| re: What are the tax rules concerning charitable donation of used clothing? (Posted on 12/2/12 at 10:47 pm to Spankum)
LINK
I make a spreadsheet yearly with the average of these values. Have I ever actually used it for anything? No, but it's there if I need it.
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yellowfin 
Illinois Fan
Paige is Pretty
Member since May 2006
51966 posts
 Online
| re: What are the tax rules concerning charitable donation of used clothing? (Posted on 12/3/12 at 9:13 am to Spankum)
goodwill gives receipts
up to you to value under 5k
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Spankum
LSU Fan
Miss-sippi
Member since Jan 2007
26603 posts
| re: What are the tax rules concerning charitable donation of used clothing? (Posted on 12/3/12 at 10:16 pm to yellowfin)
thanks to all...very good info... 
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LSUGUMBO 
New Orleans Saints Fan
Shreveport, LA
Member since Sep 2005
3810 posts
| re: What are the tax rules concerning charitable donation of used clothing? (Posted on 12/3/12 at 11:51 pm to Spankum)
I usually take a picture of the whole lot of donations to attach to the itemized list as further documentation.
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yellowfin
Illinois Fan
Paige is Pretty
Member since May 2006
51966 posts
Online
| re: What are the tax rules concerning charitable donation of used clothing? (Posted on 12/4/12 at 7:54 am to Spankum)
The goodwill receipts are usually pretty vague like "2 bags of clothes and shoes" so as long as you keep it under 5k there's no way to prove it wasn't worth what you claim because it's long gone.
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