How to Get a Clothing Donation Tax Deduction

Few things are more satisfying than a freshly cleaned-out closet, but where do your clothes go?  If you cannot pass off old clothing to friends or family, you are probably considering either throwing them away or donating them.  You should donate!  Not only can your clothing help others, you can get a tax deduction.  What is not to like about that?

Below I'll guide you through the process of donating your clothing in such a way that you can claim that donation on your federal tax return.

If you want your clothing donation to qualify for a tax deduction, it must be of good or excellent quality - no rags for the poor! A while back, clothing that was deemed to be in "fair" condition was considered OK, but those days are over.

To assess whether your old clothes are up to snuff, check to see that the clothing you are thinking of donating is:

• Clean
• Un-damaged
• Free of holes and tears
• Not wrinkled

If you want to donate clothing and have it count for tax deductions, you must donate to a 501 C(3) nonprofit organization. The major charities that take clothing donations and count when it comes to tax credits include:

• The Salvation Army
• The Goodwill
• The Military Order of the Purple Heart

The Salvation Army and Order of the Purple Heart will actually pick up clothing donations, which is very convenient! To read a more detailed guide to giving Purple Heart Donations, read my article on the subject.

If you have shoes to donate, consider giving to Soles4Souls, which is a nonprofit organization that accepts shoes that they in turn give to needy children and adults.  You might also consider giving used clothing to women with special needs by donating to Hand-Me-Down Used Clothing for Women.

Before making your donation, calculate the value of the clothing items you are donating.  Below is a helpful table that can help you determine the general value of some of the most common articles of clothing that you may donate. 

It is always a good idea to get a receipt when you donate something, and if the total value of what you donate is greater than $250, you will have to provide a receipt in order to have it count for tax purposes. If you are not given a receipt, you must have a written acknowledgement from the organization to which you donated proving that you did indeed make the donation.

Hold on to your receipts as the year progresses and keep them all in one place so that they're easy to find when tax season rolls around!

If the total value of your donations made throughout the year is less than $500, all you need to do is share the total value of those donations on line 17 of your Schedule A.  This is one of the backup forms of the 1040 long form, which is the more detailed alternative to the 1040-EZ, and it allows you to make itemized deductions on things like medical expenses, interest paid, and job expenses.

If your noncash donation total has a value greater than $500, you will need to file the IRS Form 8283 with your tax return. This is a special form for noncash charitable contributions, and is fairly simple. All you have to do is provide information on the property you donated, the name and address of the organization(s) to which you donated, and dates of your various contributions.