Donate to Qualified Charitable Organizations

• Only gifts that are made to qualified charitable organizations can be deducted. Ask an organization if it is tax-exempt. if there is any doubt, call the IRS at (800) 829-3676 and request a copy of Publication 78, which lists the registered organizations.
  
  

Determine How Much is Deductible

• Any donation that is made without a tangible return is completely deductible. If a gift or service is received, only the portion of the donation that exceeds the fair value of the donation is deductible. For example, if you donated $500 to a church and received a book valued at $35, you could claim a deduction of $465.
  
  

Donating Property

• Property--whether it is clothes, TVs, stocks, boats, cars or even land--can be donated to charity and the value deducted. The deductible amount is the fair market value. That is, the amount someone would reasonably pay for the property. IRS Publication 561, found online at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p561.pdf, lists the values of many commonly donated items. Any stock that has been held for more than a year can be donated for its full value without having to pay capital gains taxes on any increases in value. If an item worth more than $500 is donated, the IRS will require Form 8283 to be filled out to claim the deduction.