Can I Deduct Cell Phone Donations?
You should donate your old cell phones to a charitable organization, because cell phone waste adds toxic lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium to the environment, according to Secure the Call. Charitable organizations can also reuse or resell these phones in order help those in need, such as seniors and abused women. As an added benefit for doing the right thing, U.S. residents can take a federal tax deduction for the fair value of their phone donation, lessening their tax burden.
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Requirements
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Phone owners can only take a deduction if they donate their mobile phone to a charitable organization qualified by the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS. Typical organizations include religious organizations; local, state and federal governments; and aid organizations that provide help to vulnerable members of society. In addition, cell phone donors must itemize their donations on line 16 of IRS Form 1040, Schedule A to claim their deduction, and must forgo their standard deduction.
Value
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Mobile phone donors can only count the fair market value of their donation as a deduction, defined as the price at which they could sell the phone to a willing buyer. If they have difficulty determining the value of their donation, they should ask a representative of the charity to provide them with an estimate of the value. For example, Recycle My Cell Phone considers the deductible value of a phone as the purchase price depreciated by 20 percent for every year that the donor owned it.
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Postage
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Many charitable organizations that collect cell phones allow donors to drop their phone off in a collection bin at a local store or to mail it to their headquarters. Individuals can deduct all postage costs paid to make a cell phone donation, but they cannot deduct mileage to take the phone to a donation center, according to Recycle My Cell Phone. Donors should hold onto their postage receipt for tax purposes.
Documentation
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While cell phone donors do not have to obtain a receipt for their donation if it has a fair market value of less than $250, they should do so in order to prove their deduction to the IRS in case the agency ever audits them. Donors should obtain a receipt that contains the name of the charitable organization, a description of the items donated, the price of the item and a signature by a representative of the charity verifying the donation. Cell phone donors should keep these records for at least three tax years after they file their return, according to the IRS.
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References
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