Charitable Contributions of Non-Cash Items

DETERMINING THE VALUE

The first step in claiming a non-cash donation on your tax return is to calculate the fair market value (FMV) of the item or items that you donated. FMV is the price that the items would sell for on the open market. As most non-cash contributions are of used items, the FMV of your donations is typically much lower than what you paid for the items when they were new.

DONATION VALUE GUIDE

DOCUMENTATION

As with any tax deduction you wish to claim, documentation of your non-cash charitable contributions is very important. If you’re claiming more than $250 of non-cash donations throughout the year, then you will need to retain a written acknowledgment of the donations from the organization, as well as a description of the property that was donated.

Receipt must have:

  1. Date, Name and Address of organization

  2. Donation Details

  3. Tax Year

  4. Tax Receipt Value

Note: If you’re making a donation of one item that has a FMV of more than $5,000, then you may need to have the property appraised to verify its value before you donate it. A qualified appraisal will need to be attached to your return to claim the donated property as a deduction.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

  • Gifts to individuals are not deductible. Only qualified organizations are eligible to receive tax deductible contributions.

-Any additional questions feel free to contact our office at info@tax-associates.com or by phone at (847) 566-3010