It’s that time of year in our household when we clean out the closets and identify those clothes that don’t fit anymore. I have a relative who year after year gives me a striped sweater for my birthday. I never told my relative that I hate striped sweaters, so those never-used sweaters join the pile of other clothes that go to our favorite charities. For years we have donated to AMVET and GOODWILL. Some of the clothes may be a little used but are still in great shape. When we moved to Sun City a few years ago, we added to the clothes a long list of other valuables—books, furniture, games, kitchen utensils and appliances, computer accessories, lamps, etc. It was quite a list of valuables that “had to go” as part of our downsizing move. We were careful to obtain a receipt for our donations, and we kept detailed listings of the items contributed. The “fair market value” of these donated items are deductible as part of the itemized deductions on the Federal income tax return on Schedule A. Support for these deductions is provided on Schedule 8283 and attached to your tax return. Estimating the “fair market value” is really not rocket science. The “fair market value” is equal to what someone would pay for the item in the open market. For example, a donated automobile would be worth its “blue book” value. If any individual item has a “fair market value” of $5,000 or more, an appraisal is also required. Don’t underestimate the value of that “old” piece of furniture. It could be an antique and worth quite a bit.
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