non-cash charitable donations

[Martha]

I know that we can give items in "good" condition to a charity such as Goodwill and deduct the fair market value. I also know that if we are giving more than $500 worth of stuff we need to file a form itemizing what we gave and identifying the recipient.

It used to be our Goodwill would give a receipt for items given, but only in a general sense, such as "8 boxes." Our Goodwill will not sign an itemized receipt. So you tax practitioners and those of you who give stuff to charities, what do you do to document your donation?

 

[Nords]

I know that we can give items in "good" condition to a charity such as Goodwill and deduct the fair market value. I also know that if we are giving more than $500 worth of stuff we need to file a form itemizing what we gave and identifying the recipient.
It used to be our Goodwill would give a receipt for items given, but only in a general sense, such as "8 boxes." Our Goodwill will not sign an itemized receipt. So you tax practitioners and those of you who give stuff to charities, what do you do to document your donation?

I don't mean to go all sea-lawyer on you, but you used the words "identifying the recipient" instead of "signed for by the recipient". Is there a requirement that Goodwill sign an itemized receipt, or are they only obligated to sign a general acknowledgment of receiving a donation? I know that they're gunshy about giving any impression that they're in the appraisal business.

Our Goodwill usually leaves the form blank, signs it, and lets us fill it in later. On the very rare occasions when they don't let us fill it out, I mark the front with an asterisk and add the details on the back. The value of the items could be documented another way, such as with TurboTax's [-]"Deduct This!"[/-] "ItsDeductible" (their grammar, not mine).

Or maybe it's time to call the Salvation Army or any of the other organizations.

 

[LOL!]

I take photos and put them with my tax return. I use the salvation army list (find it with google).

 

[kramer]

Martha,

I take photos of everything. And I usually have calculated the value before the gift. I store all of this in my email so that I won't lose it.

Then I package everything and take it to Salvation Army or Goodwill.

They just give me a blank signed receipt, basically.

I did a search on the web where they valued used things and generally used those values or something close. For instance, used clothes are worth less than you might think.

I am about to make a big donation myself.

Kramer

 

[Martha]

I don't mean to go all sea-lawyer on you, but you used the words "identifying the recipient" instead of "signed for by the recipient". Is there a requirement that Goodwill sign an itemized receipt, or are they only obligated to sign a general acknowledgment of receiving a donation?

They are not required to sign the receipt form unless your donations exceed $5000 in value. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8283.pdf

Thanks for the ideas. I think I will take a picture of each thing given and look for the Salvation Army list.

 

[Martha]

When looking for the Salvation Army list, I did find this site which has links to both Goodwill and Salvation Army valuation estimates: Clothing Donation to Salvation Army or Goodwill

 

[travelover]

Is this a real concern, i.e. has any one had the IRS call them on the carpet for claiming an old couch was worth $50 when it was really only worth $25?

 

[Darryl]

I thought I needed a receipt for anything over $250??

With noncash contributions I stop at $240 per organization and move to next organization.