How Do You Donate Clothes to the Salvation Army for a Tax Refund?

Go through your closet to find clothes you don't wear anymore.

Many donations that you make are tax-deductible, especially if you choose to give the items to a charitable organization such as the Salvation Army. For instance, if you go through your family's closets and collect shirts, pants, dresses, jackets and shoes that you and your family members no longer wear, you can receive a tax credit from the Internal Revenue Service for the items that you donate. In addition to the credit you can receive, you can feel confident that someone less fortunate than you may be able to make good use of your unwanted items.

Instructions

1. Find listings for the donation centers nearest to you by entering your ZIP code in the box labeled " Locations" in the top right-hand corner of the the Salvation Army USA home page. (See Resources)

2. Gather the clothing and footwear items you want to donate, and make a list of each item and its condition. For example, if you have a well worn pair of children's boots that you want to donate, list "Children's boots: well worn." This will give you an idea of how to value the item.

3. Use the Salvation Army Valuation Guide (See Resources), and look up the value for each item in the "Children's," "Men's" or "Women's" clothing valuation section. Record the value for each individual item on the itemized list you created in Step 2. Make a copy of the list by hand or with a copier.

4. Take the clothing items and the copied, itemized list with you to your nearest Salvation Army donation center. Give the itemized list to the representative so that he can make out a receipt that you can use for tax purposes.

Tips & Warnings

• Call 1-800-SA-TRUCK to arrange for a Salvation Army truck to come to your home and pick up your clothing donations. It may take 7 to 14 days for a truck to come to your home.

• Be honest when evaluating the clothing or footwear items. Don't take advantage of the highest value unless the clothes or shoes are in like-new condition.

References

• Salvation Army: Clothing, Furniture and Household Items Donations

Resources

• Salvation Army USA: Valuation Guide for Salvation Army Donations
• Salvation Army Home Page