Noncash Donations

Record your qualified "give aways" on our Donation Log Sheets

Reference List for Valuing Donations of
Clothing, Household, Furniture, Dry Goods, Sporting Goods, etc.

When you donate wearable/useable clothing, furniture, household items, toys, etc. to an IRS-recognized non-profit organizations, you may be entitled to a deduction on your personal tax return. In order to claim this deduction, the items must be in good or better, usable/wearable, functional/operational condition, you need to get a receipt from the receiving organization and keep an itemized list of the items donated. In most cases, you will be able to claim a deduction for the Fair Market Value of your contribution -- generally what someone would be willing to pay at garage sale or thrift store prices. No deduction is allowed for items that are not considered wearable and/or usable by the receiving organization.

Large and/or expensive items with significant value, like buildings, jewelry, collections, antiques or artwork, may need to have a written appraisal attached to the tax return.  As a general rule, if your donation is valued at $5,000 or more, an appraisal is required.  Vehicle, boat and RV donations must be documented by the receiving organization, which is required to send donors a 1098C.  Unless otherwise documented, the maximum value that can be taken for a vehicle donation is $500.00.  Vehicles that are not working may have no donation value.

Use these record sheets to log your noncash donations and organize the information for your taxes. These are broad dollar ranges, with the highest values placed on items in new or nearly new condition. A general rule of thumb for clothing donations is to take 15-25% of the original purchase price. "Everyday" or less expensive items will generally have a lower value than more expensive or "special" items. You may be asked the original cost of the item(s) donated, in order to complete the tax form.

For business owners donating non-cash merchandise, unneeded furniture or equipment to a charitable organization, the rules are different.  If you are donating product that your business sells, the business has already counted the expense when the product was originally purchased from a supplier, so there is no additional deduction to take.  If the business is donating assets that have been depreciated to zero, there is no donation available.  There also is no donation credit for services or time donated by a business owner.