When you donate to any Non-Profit Organization such as Goodwill or to the Salvation Army, you cannot put a specific dollar amount for each item, ie: Old Navy Jeans, $15.00/ea. on the receipt you filled out. You can however, put an estimated figure for a bunch of items, "MIsc", approx $150.00. The total amt for all items within one calendar year can not exceed $800.00.
October 31st, 2009 at 12:29 am
There’s no limit to what you can claim, but there’s a limit on what the IRS will allow on your tax deductions. It depends on your earnings.
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October 31st, 2009 at 1:02 am
No. But you have to be able to document the claimed value.
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October 31st, 2009 at 1:27 am
Most charitable donations, including donations to Goodwill, can be deducted up to 50% of your AGI. Beyond that, you carry over the excess to future years.
Keep written records of your donations. Any donation of $250 or more requires a written acknowledgement from the charity.
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October 31st, 2009 at 1:57 am
When you donate to any Non-Profit Organization such as Goodwill or to the Salvation Army, you cannot put a specific dollar amount for each item, ie: Old Navy Jeans, $15.00/ea. on the receipt you filled out. You can however, put an estimated figure for a bunch of items, "MIsc", approx $150.00. The total amt for all items within one calendar year can not exceed $800.00.
References :
Know people who worked there
October 31st, 2009 at 2:46 am
Yes there’s a limit, but it’s at least 20% of your income, and for most items 50%, so it’s rarely an issue.
There are many other requirements, some of them new over the last year or two, on what you must do to deduct contributions. Be sure you have all the required info and paperwork.
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October 31st, 2009 at 3:07 am
New for 2006:
Rules for Clothing and Household Items
To be deductible, clothing and household items donated to charity after Aug. 17, 2006, must be in good used condition or better. However, a taxpayer may claim a deduction of more than $500 for any single item, regardless of its condition, if the taxpayer includes a qualified appraisal of the item with the return. Household items include furniture, furnishings, electronics, appliances, and linens.
In other words – no deduction for cleaning out your garage and getting junk hauled away.
The problem with this law will be how you will prove the value of your deduction.
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p561/ar02.html has some help in this matter.
References :
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p561/ar02.html; 25 year IRS auditor