Donating Household Items and Clothing

This can be a great tax deduction especially for families with growing children. When our children were younger and living at home, our deduction was usually around $3,000 each year since we gave away so much clothing. The easiest way to keep up with the donations is to record each item donated on a sheet of paper and attach it to a copy of the receipt from the charity. Keep all the receipts in your tax file. Then at the end of the year value each donated item per the valuation guide at the Salvation Army website. The deductible amount of donations of household items and clothing in good condition is based on thrift shop value which in my opinion is roughly 20% of your original cost.