Gamom3 Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 the government questioning your donations? We donated a good bit last year to the Goodwill and of course all they give you is a card with the date and a signature. Leaving you to keep records on what you donate. I have been inputing what we donated and I have not finished putting it all in, it is already up to $1100. I get nervous that they will want to audit us if I go to high! How do they know that we are being honest about what we donated? Which we are! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tutor Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 ...but we don't report our donations. We don't think it's anyone's business but ours and God's. I really wish they would simplify the tax code so issues like you are having would no longer be issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 (edited) No, we donate mostly clothes and baby items, so they only come out to like $1 an item or less lol. We have never had $1100 worth of stuff in donations. $1100 is really not that much in the grand scheme of things though when you start talking about taxes. I know there are red flags if you donate alot of cash, but I don't know about Goodwill type stores. I really should know this since my FIL is a CPA lol. Edit: What I ment to say was $1100 is not so much that the IRS would likely look at it not that it is not much to help save on taxes. Sorry, I don't always say what I mean clearly *sigh*. Edited February 14, 2009 by dwkilburn1 clarification Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 I'm working this year for the first time in a tax office. I went through training in December and early January. I heard our manager telling someone about a program approved by the IRS called It's Deductible. It's supposed to help you calculate the FMV (fair market value) of your donated items. The IRS says you are supposed to keep records of what's donated, the FMV, and how you arrived at that value such as thrift store prices, newspaper ads, etc. She said this program was put together by people who researched thrift store, yard sales, flea markets and the like. The work is all ready done for you. She said it reallys gives you a good value for your donations. I'm not sure where you could buy it, but I'm sure you could google it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 It's Deductible: http://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/itsdeductible/index.jsp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 and keep them with our tax return. I take one big picture of everything that's going at the same time and make notes if anything is particularly nice, like a half-dozen Strasburg dresses or a piece of furniture. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 everytime I give a bag of stuff to the Vets I have a list of what I gave...so when I do taxes I can use the donation program to price my list of items. I staple it to the little paper 'receipt' the place gives me. then I don't forget what I gave. Last year we had $1500 and I know someone this year who donated over $2000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chai Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 and keep them with our tax return. I take one big picture of everything that's going at the same time and make notes if anything is particularly nice, like a half-dozen Strasburg dresses or a piece of furniture. Terri This is exactly what we do. We've had pretty high donations most years and haven't had any problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 and keep them with our tax return. I take one big picture of everything that's going at the same time and make notes if anything is particularly nice, like a half-dozen Strasburg dresses or a piece of furniture. Terri That is a great idea! I will start doing that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 We've been using It's Deductible for years, and it's a real blessing. We try to take large donations to Goodwill every month, and I inventory each car load before going to drop it off. The ladies are always gracious and fill out a small form that has our name, address, date, and simple description (car load full, 7 bags and 2 boxes, etc.) Then at tax time I take those handwritten inventory sheets of mine, the corresponding Goodwill receipt, and input all the descriptions into the It's Deductible program. I try to always be fair and accurate in my descriptions, and their value is usually much higher than I would have thought. Just this year, though, I found out that the free online program is a little tricky. You need to print the actual page that you are inputing all the goods on to get the actual description and value of each item. If you just choose their *print* feature, it only prints a generic form that won't be helpful for your taxes since it doesn't assess their value. I think it's a trick to get you to buy turbo Tax. :glare: So, as long as you keep good records and donation receipts, you would be in fine shape even of you were audited. Blessings~ Ginger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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