Out With The Old

December 16, 2014

As the cold weather settles in for the winter here in the northeast, out come all the wool sweaters and turtlenecks from the back of the closet.  This is also the time of year I do a once over of my wardrobe to prepare for my yearly donation to Goodwill. Now, I don’t have any sweaters that could win in the contest for the ugly Christmas sweater party, but there are a few that I accidentally washed and shrunk that no longer fit. So these shrunken sweaters, along with out-of-fashion cowl neck and peplum tops, need to go. Even the long, flowing waterfall sweaters that I stocked up on last year are no longer fashionable, according to whowhatwear.com.

So what items can you donate? The list is endless: shirts, sweaters, pants, skirts, jackets, shoes, toys, electronics, furniture, etc. Just make sure the donations are in “good” condition and take pictures before you give your stuff away in case you get audited by the IRS.

Why would the IRS audit your good deed? Well, the benefit of donating your unwanted stuff is that you may get a tax deduction. If you itemize on the federal Schedule A already for your state income taxes, mortgage interest, and real estate tax deductions then it is an easy add-on to take a charitable deduction for your clothing donation.

The IRS has some helpful tips on year-end donations on their website at irs.gov. The most important tip is to get a receipt from the donation center so you can value your items. You can use Goodwill’s Donation Valuation Guide to help come up with your deductible amount based on average values.

As you clear out the old items, that isn’t an excuse for “in with the new” so resist the temptation to hit the malls for new clothing. However, you can help out the charitable organizations that take donations by shopping and actually buying someone else’s donated items. Goodwill has over 2,700 stores where you can get good deals or snag a one-of-a-kind item at bargain prices.  You can find your nearest location using Goodwill’s locator tool, which also has a calculator to estimate the impact of your donation or purchase.  Last year, more than 9.8 million people benefited from Goodwill employment training, job placement services, financial education, youth mentoring and more that was all due to the support of individuals donating and shopping at Goodwill locations across the country.

How about you? Have you donated to or purchased any items from Goodwill? Share your experiences in the comments section below.