How to Value Donated Clothing for Taxes

Video Transcript

"I just cleaned out my closet this weekend because I couldn't really fit anything else in there. I'm sure you've done the same thing and wondered what to do with the clothing you don't wear anymore. My favorite thing is to take it down to the closest charity near my house, which is the good will. This is the kind of receipt they'll give you, and they will ask for a couple things. Typically, the value of the clothing that you had in your closet is not anywhere near what you actually paid for it. So you need to get a donor's estimate of value, and put that on your receipt. That's what we have here. You will also have to put on your tax return the amount you actually paid for the item, if it's above a certain threshold. The place to report the donation value, is actually on schedule A, on form 1040, right here under gifts to charity, other than cash. So you just have to keep track of these items, and keep receipts to back up this information. Then you can clean out your closet, and make room for more shoes. I'm Kristen Brand, and that is how you deduct clothing given away to charity."