How Do I Claim Donating Clothes to the Salvation Army on My Taxes?

Clothing donations you make to the Salvation Army must be claimed as an itemized deduction on IRS Schedule A. You may use the value of donations and other itemized deductions you claim on Schedule A to reduce your taxable income and tax due to the IRS at the end of the year. Each time you make a donation, make a list of the clothing items you donate and the date of your donation. You will need this information to determine the value of your donations.

Instructions

Donation Value Less Than $500

1. Determine the value of your donation. Use the Salvation Army donation value guide at its website to calculate the thrift store value of your donation. The IRS accepts values listed in this guide for the purpose of determining the value of your donations.

2. Complete IRS Schedule A, Itemized Deductions to claim your donation. If the total value of all your clothing donations is less than $500, report the amount on Schedule A, line 17. If the total value of your donations is more than $500, you must complete Form 8283, Non-cash Charitable Contributions and attach the form to Schedule A.

3. Complete the rest of Schedule A. Itemize additional deductions on Schedule A and report the sum of all Schedule A items on line 29. Transfer the total to line 40 of your 1040 tax return. Attach Schedule A to your tax return before you file.

Donation Value More Than $500

1. Complete IRS Form 8283, Non-cash Charitable contributions. Include your name and Social Security number on the first line of the form.

2. Complete Part 1, Information on Donated Property. If you made clothing donations on multiple dates, list the value of each donation on separate lines. If you only donated clothing on one date, list the value of the donation on line A. You can list up to five donation dates on Form 8283. If you make more than five donations during the year, complete an additional Form 8283.

3. Write "Salvation Army" and the address of the location where you donated clothing on line A, box a. Write "Clothing" on line A, box b.

4. Complete boxes c, g and h of box A. In box g, report the value of your clothing donation and write "Thrift Store Value" in box h. If you have multiple donation dates, complete the same steps for lines B through E.

5. Add the total value of your clothing donations from Form 8283 and transfer the amount to line 17 of Schedule A.

References

• IRS.gov: Tax Topic 506: Charitable Contributions
• IRS.gov: Publication 526: Charitable Contributions: Determining the Fair Market Value
• IRS.gov: Form 8283: Noncash Charitable Contributions (PDF)
• IRS.gov: Schedule A: Itemized Deductions (PDF)

Resources

• The Salvation Army: Donation Value Guide