Item donations are donations of property, such as clothing and household goods, that you give to qualified charitable organizations. Donations of stock and artwork are also considered item donations.
Generally, you can deduct the fair market value (FMV) of an item in the year that you donate it. If the value of the item that you are donating is more than $500, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 requires that you get an appraisal and keep the record on file.
If you’re donating an item that is worth more than $500, you need to know the basis of the property. For most items, this is the amount that you paid for the donated item. However, if you received the item as a gift, your basis in the property is the giver’s basis. If you inherited the item, your basis is usually the fair market value of the item on the date of the decedent’s death.
If the total of all your donations is more than $500, you must file Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions, with your tax return. This applies whether you donate a single item worth more than $500, or make a series of smaller donations that total more than $500.
If you use the Charitable Donations topic in the Deductions section of the interview to report your charitable donations, TaxCut will make sure that your donations are correctly reported.
For more information, see these resources: