By
eHow Personal Finance Editor
Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Making Donations
Step1
Select a tax-exempt organization qualified to receive tax-deductible donations. See the Related eHow "How to Determine if a Charity Is Qualified to Receive Tax-Deductible Donations" for guidelines.
Step2
Learn the Internal Revenue Service's definition of a charitable contribution: "a donation or gift to a qualified organization that is both voluntary and made without getting, or expecting to get, anything of equal value."
Step3
Make charitable donations to the organizations you select throughout the year.
Step4
Keep records of your donations. For donations of less than $250, a canceled check is sufficient for IRS purposes. For contributions larger than $250, you must get a written acknowledgment from the organization that includes the amount of cash contributed, a description of the property (for a non-cash contribution) and notice of whether you received any goods or services in exchange for the donation. See "How to Keep Proper Records for Donations" in the Related eHows for more details.
Filing Your Taxes
Step1
Gather together your records, listing your individual donations.
Step2
Report your charitable contributions by itemizing your deductions on Schedule A of IRS Form 1040.
Step3
Deduct your contributions only in the year you actually made them.
Step4
Fill out the relevant parts of Form 8283 if you made non-cash contributions totaling over $500.