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 a household item that you are donating is more than $500, and it is not in good condition, you are required to get an appraisal and submit it with your return.
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, taking into account any additions or subtractions from basis while you held the property. However, if you received the item as a gift, your basis in the property is the donor's basis plus any gift taxes paid.
If you inherited the item, your basis will depend on the deceased’s date of death.
If the deceased died before 2010, the basis in the inherited property will be the deceased’s basis on the date of death.
If the deceased died in 2010, the estate executor might have elected to use the modified carryover basis rules that were in place before the Tax Relief Act of 2010 was enacted. Under the modified carryover basis rules, the basis of the property will be the total of:
The deceased’s basis on the date of death.
Any additions to basis the executor of the estate might choose to make using the $1.3 million discretionary basis adjustment.
If the total of all your item 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.
Special rules apply to:
Donations of cars and other vehicles
Donations of appreciated property, such as stock
Donations of property valued at more than $5,000
For more information, see these resources: