How to Figure Fair Market Value Donations
Charitable donations can add up to a big tax deduction, but it can be difficult to determine the correct amount to deduct. Nobody wants to claim an incorrectly high market value, as this could potentially put a taxpayer at risk for an audit from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), but everyone wants to get the highest possible deduction for their charitable donations. Figuring fair market value is easy and fast with free online software.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Visit TurboTax ItsDeductible Online and click "Start Now - It's Free." This online tool provides fair market value for thousands of items and doesn't require any purchase.
-
2
Accept the TurboTax License Agreement and enter your first name, last name, a user ID, password, security question and answer and e-mail address.
-
-
3
Click "Visit" next to the current year.
-
4
Select the article that you are donating: items, money, stock or mileage.
-
5
Enter the name of the charity that you are donating to and the date of the donation.
-
6
Under "Search by name," choose the category of item that you are donating, and then type in the specific name of the item.
-
7
A list will appear, displaying the value of the item in each condition. If you wish to track your donations online, enter the quantity of the items in high or medium quality and select "Add items to my donation."
-
8
Continue adding items in the same manner. When you are done adding all donations, you can print a summary of all donated items as well as a list of total donation amounts.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
If you don't want to use TurboTax online to determine Fair Market Value, several other methods can be used. One is to refer to Goodwill's Donation Value Guide, available at any Goodwill store.
You can also check the average selling prices on eBay for fair market values.
Resources
- Photo Credit Svilen Mushkatov
