Tax Credit for Donating Children's Clothes
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows taxpayers to receive a tax credit for both cash donations and noncash donations. Most donated items can be claimed on your taxes, which will reduce the amount of taxes you owe the IRS. Donated items can include children's clothing. The amount you can claim will be based on the fair market value of the clothing.
Other People Are Reading
-
Condition
-
The children's clothing you donate must be in good condition to qualify for a tax credit. The clothing does not have to be in great condition but should be free of holes, stains or tears. The better the condition of the clothing, the better market value the clothing will have.
Fair Market Value
-
The fair market value of children's clothing is often far less than what you paid for the items when new. When donating to organizations such as the Salvation Army, American Red Cross or Goodwill, the amount for which the stores will sell the clothing is what you can deduct. This means that if boys jeans sell for $2.99 a pair, you can deduct $2.99 per pair of jeans you donate. If you donate children's clothing to a church, you can use the average value of children's clothing that is sold at a children's consignment store to determine the fair market value. In this case the brand of the item may alter the fair market price; name-brand children's clothing will resell for a higher amount.
-
Records for Donations Under $250 in Value
-
The best records you can keep will be original receipts for items paid, and a detailed list of what you donated. The list should include the number and type of items donated, and even brands and sizes if the items are of greater value. Photos can help support your claim of a donation in the event of an audit. Many organizations will give you a receipt to support your donation, but you are not required to have a receipt when the value is under $250. You must write down the name of the organization to which you donated the items and the date.
Donations over $500 in Value
-
You must have a receipt from the organization you donated the clothing to. Moreover, the receipt must detail that you donated children's clothing and that you did not receive anything in exchange for the donation. You must keep a reasonably detailed list of items donated. It is best to take photos of the items you donated.
Appraisals
-
In the rare instance that you are donating a single children's clothing item that is valued over $500, you must have an appraisal done on the item. Make sure you have a written receipt from the organization to which you donated the item. Keep these documents to support your tax credit claim.
-
References
- Photo Credit Pixland/Pixland/Getty Images
