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Do you have a stockpile of clothing your children have outgrown. I am doing a series of posts on making money selling your children’s gently used clothing. None of those options work for you..consider donating the clothing…you are helping out a charity and could make some money.
What??? Are you thinking, I have never been given money in exchange for donated items! While you won’t receive cold hard cash or even a check for your donated items, you will receive a tax receipt.
Make sure the organization you are donating to is a 501(3)c charity. The Salvation Army and Goodwill Industries are both 501(3)c charities that can be found in most cities. In most cases the charity will hand you a signed and dated receipt and it will be your responsibility to fill in the items you are donating and an estimated number based on the fair market value of the goods you’re donating.
You should keep good records of what you donate throughout the year including photos of donated items in case you need them for an audit. There are programs and apps that can help with this record keeping, determining the fair market value of your items, and tallying everything at tax time.
This only works if you are itemizing your deductions rather than taking the standard deduction. In order to qualify for a tax deduction of donated items, the total of all your deductions (how much you donated, along with any other deductions you might have, like mortgage interest, state or property taxes, medical expenses, and job related expenses), has to be greater than the standard amount you qualify for (meaning you’d be itemizing your deductions, rather than taking the standard one).
I am in no way an expert on tax law so please consult the IRS or contact an accountant for further information.
