How to Maximize Your Charitable Donations

Your tax professional has partnered with CharityDeductions.com to help you maximize your deduction this year through improved charitable donation management. Learn how you can financially benefit by using the helpful tips below and your CharityDeductions.com membership.

Sell It or Donate It • You can always sell your item in a garage sale, local newspaper, or utilize the internet with auction websites like eBay.com and classified websites like CraigsList.com. If you want to put cash in your pocket quickly and don't mind putting up with the hassle, this could be a good way to go. • The second option is to donate the item to a local charity like Goodwill, Salvation Army, or other charities local to your area. Traditionally, people donate simply out of convenience to "just get it out of the house" or because they are philanthropic and want to help those in-need. Financially benefiting from the donation, historically, was never a big motivator because it required excessive time to research and document. CharityDeductions.com has done the research for you to help you maximize your financial benefit from the donation with minimal impact on your time. Read on to learn how. Find Fair Market Values for Donations • If you donate items to any charity, the best way to maximize your donation is to find the individual fair market value of each item and make a detailed list of your donation. Don’t just claim a bag of clothes and a few hundred dollars on your tax return. The IRS allows you to deduct the full fair market value of any item you donate, but they don’t provide you with a way to determine those values. CharityDeductions.com provides fair market values for 100,000+ items allowing you to maximize the value of your donation and increase your charitable deduction. You’ll get a larger refund or pay less in taxes using this detailed information! Keep Organized Records • Before you make a donation, you should also create a neat, detailed list of the items. When you make your donation, get an official receipt and write “See attached list” to your receipt. Try to get the person accepting the donation to sign both your detailed list and the official receipt. Avoid putting values or conditions on your list. Many charity workers will not sign such a list since they are not in the valuation business. You should also have a detailed itemized list that matches your donation list and has the quantity, condition, and fair market value of every item you donate. • CharityDeducitons.com provides these detailed reports. You can track cash and non-cash donations. You can also allow your tax professional to access your account and review and print your reports. Don’t just give them a box of receipts to sort when they prepare your tax return. This will save them time and you money!