Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We use Turbo Tax to do our taxes and they have a program that automatically values everything. You just put in the quantity of what you donate. I can't remember the name of the program (because it comes with Turbo Tax), but maybe someone else can.

I believe the program is called "Its Deductible"

I've used it for years, and always choose the lesser value for each item.

we use this too.

Anonymous wrote:We use Turbo Tax to do our taxes and they have a program that automatically values everything. You just put in the quantity of what you donate. I can't remember the name of the program (because it comes with Turbo Tax), but maybe someone else can.

+1 We make a detailed list when we donate, which we use as reference to plug into Turbo Tax for values later on.

I've always just sort of ballparked and made sure it stayed under $500 b/c of the IRS limit.

But, last year, we donated a LOT. I made a rough list but hadn't *actually* counted out how many of each type of item we gave away. I used the salvation army website to estimate cost and it was just under $500.

Then I got to TurboTax and the numbers they use are SO MUCH HIGHER and it brought my total to over $500. But I didn't feel comfortable going with those numbers since I had only estimated how much of each type of clothing was in each bag I gave away.

So in the future, I don't care if it takes me an extra hour or so to sort it...I am keeping a detailed list of exactly what we donate so I can claim it all if it goes over $500. I used to do garage sales but I can get more money back and spend less time just donating it and getting the tax deduction.

Thanks for the info, guys. This particular donation had a lot of barely used men's dress shoes, shits, suits, etc. Might add up. And I'll take any tax deduction I can get!

Right..under $500 does not need to be itemized. That is a lot of used t-shirts.. Most tshirts at Goodwill are about $2 so it can't be more than that a t-shirt..and that is for the ones that are not worn and stained.

We are cleaning out bins and bins of accumulated kids clothes, and listing everything - it's a pain. I take the Goodwill receipt and staple the list.

If we dumped it all in a trash bag it would take 5 minutes. BU tit takes half an hour to sort it, then tally it - 25 t-shirts, 40 sleepers, 12 pants, etc etc.

But I think it will all add up and be worth it in the end. We did it last night watching TV and ended up with three bags, and took 5 bags to Goodwill last weekend. Progress!

I don't bother. The value of used clothes and such isn't high enough to spend my time on it.

Another vote for its deductible. It's a free program. When I pack the bags to donate I take q picture on my phone and make a note of all the stuff listed out.

You can use this as a guide.

https://satruck.org/Home/DonationValueGuide

You can get an automatic deduction of $500 with no audit

Anonymous wrote:We use Turbo Tax to do our taxes and they have a program that automatically values everything. You just put in the quantity of what you donate. I can't remember the name of the program (because it comes with Turbo Tax), but maybe someone else can.

I believe the program is called "Its Deductible"

I've used it for years, and always choose the lesser value for each item.

P.S. You do need to be very specific on the receipt. Like 4 pairs of kids shoes, 20 blouses, 14 teeshirts, etc. It needs to be itemized for the IRS to accept it if they ever audit. I just list out the items and then staple it to the general receipt from Goodwill or purple Heart.

We use Turbo Tax to do our taxes and they have a program that automatically values everything. You just put in the quantity of what you donate. I can't remember the name of the program (because it comes with Turbo Tax), but maybe someone else can.

Is there an app? Website? We donate to military order of the purple heart - they leave a reciept, but no way to quantify how much we can write off for our donations come tax time.....