If you have any unused household items or clothes but they are in good used condition, please consider to donate them to a qualified charity. The tax benefit of non-cash donation is equivalent to cash donation! In general, you can deduct the fair market value of the clothing, books, household items. You must follow some guidance to estimate the fair market value of the donated items. If you donate the properties to Salvation Army, they provide the estimation in the following link:
https://satruck.org/Home/DonationValueGuide
Record keeping
Certainly, you have to substantiate the donations so that you can include them as tax deductible items in your tax returns.
If the non-cash donation is less than $500, we recommend you keep the donation receipt which shows the name of the charity, the date and location of your contribution and the description of the items you donated.
If the non-cash donation you are claiming in the tax return is in the range of $500 to $5,000, you should further document the cost of each individual donated item for the date of acquired as well as how to acquire. A comment should be made for the condition of the donated item whether it is in fair, good or great condition.
If the overall non-cash donation is over $5,000 or one individual item is over $500, you should substantiate the fair market value by an appraisal report.
Hope these tips will help you maximize your tax benefit!
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