Charitable donations on your taxes.. cash, clothing and household items..?

Question

I have made some charitable contributions, the cash part I have no receipts for because you dont think about it at the time, then it adds up. Will I be asked for a receipt for those? How about items to salvation army?

Answer 1

If your return is examined, you will need receipts or bank records for cash donations. Any contribution of $250 or more must have an acknowledgement from the charity.

If your noncash contributions are in excess of $500, you will need to fill out Form 8283, and backup documentation or appraisals may be required in some cases.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8283.pdf

Answer 2

You could claim your cash contributions, but they may be disallowed if you were to get audited. It really wouldn't be that big of a deal unless it is a very large sum of money. Just be conservative with your estimates of the amounts that you donated.

The IRS has new laws taking effect now concerning the donation of clothing. The clothing must be considered to be in good or better condition. You can't just give away your old tattered raggedy clothes and expect to be able to deduct them. Most places give you a receipt of some kind when you donate a household item or clothing that doesn't necessarily state what the fair market value of the item(s) you donated was but it should state what you donated. Just hang on to every piece of evidence you have for a few years including check registers.