This Can Save You More Than Most HOT Deals - Get Your Fair Share from Uncle Sam!

[bentwookie]

awesome post, just about to take a huge truckload to salvation army..

and what's up with the salvation army only taking socks from women?
I have tons of wool socks(very thick eddie bauers I never wear)

 

[ltm]

Certainly, the non-cash charitable deduction has got to be the .. fuzziest .. easiest .. instant .. $500 deduction for those who itemize their federal taxes. Basically, the IRS lets you deduct $500 without any sort of documentation/receipts if each transaction is < $250.

Not that I would stiff any charities out there, but I'm sure that tons of people simply write down 3-4 transactions, totalling $490 to the Salvation Army and Goodwill, since, well, you don't have to provide documentation as to what items you donate.

 

[RideFree]

Certainly, the non-cash charitable deduction has got to be the .. fuzziest .. easiest .. instant .. $500 deduction for those who itemize their federal taxes. Basically, the IRS lets you deduct $500 without any sort of documentation/receipts if each transaction is < $250

One little audit could mess up the length of your parole.

 

[NuclearFetus]

Great post! Bump!

 

[JJMcKay]

You wouldn't happen to wear a suit that's covered in question marks would you?

 

[rnmcd]

In order to take advantage of the deductdion for donations you need to itemize your tax return, right?

If that's correct, the only way you can get a larger refund is if the amount you donate is greater than the standard deduction...or can you take your standard deduction and ALSO write-off your donations?

 

[fastz28]

You can either itemize or take the std deduction. Charity deduction only if you itemize.

 

[GotComputers]

The receipt from my Dec 28th drop off indicates I donated "One Truckload."

I figure I can write off as much as I need. <G>

 

[Massa2]

Thanks Bob. This is excellent info and timely.

 

[ETan]

I donated miscellaneous clothings and old toys / comp hardware to goodwill last year... but I just dropped them off and didn't get any receipt.

Can I still deduct those items?

And straying a bit off this topic, I was wondering where I could find out detailed information on taxes for non-US citizens... Hard to find any detailed, reliable info.

For example, I own some stocks that well, didn't do quite well. I thought about selling it and claiming the capital loss (up to $3000 for US citizens), but I wasn't sure if there are any special rules for non-US citizens, such as international students, or professional on worker's visa. This is just one of many questions I have.

 

[natenut]

haha, i usually buy clothes from goodwill. someday i'll be out of college and have disposable income!! keep the donations comming!

 

[SoulAssassin]

Originally posted by: VBboy
ItsDeductible sucks! I bought it last year. It did NOT include values of donations of the following items:

Keyboard
Printer (any kind)
PDA
Laptop
Computer
Monitor

WTF!!!

That's exactly what I was looking for too. Anyone have info on putting a value on PC hardware? My best guess is that you wouldn't have any problems deducting the original price of the it (nice $3K deduction for that P/100 I bought in '95) but can anyone back this up or offer other advice?

 

[Yossarian]

Originally posted by: ETan
I donated miscellaneous clothings and old toys / comp hardware to goodwill last year... but I just dropped them off and didn't get any receipt.

Can I still deduct those items?

As long as the amount isn't ridiculous you shouldn't have a problem. You would only need to show a receipt if you are audited.

 

[Yossarian]

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin
That's exactly what I was looking for too. Anyone have info on putting a value on PC hardware? My best guess is that you wouldn't have any problems deducting the original price of the it (nice $3K deduction for that P/100 I bought in '95) but can anyone back this up or offer other advice?

I can't answer your question directly because I don't know, but I will say that you can write off the system's depreciation if you use it for business purposes. For example I do some design work from my home computer and answer emails from overseas that I wouldn't see at work until the next day, so my computer magically becomes a business expense.

 

[WHSLacrossekid]

Keep an eye out on trash nite for Sofas you can take to Sal Val

 

[ETan]

Originally posted by: PipBoy

Originally posted by: ETan
I donated miscellaneous clothings and old toys / comp hardware to goodwill last year... but I just dropped them off and didn't get any receipt.

Can I still deduct those items?

As long as the amount isn't ridiculous you shouldn't have a problem. You would only need to show a receipt if you are audited.

Clothes... old keyboard... mice.... misc junk.... i guess it could be worth $100 because of the amount of clothings. So is it ok to say $100? Or is that a bad idea?

I'm more interested in finding detailed source of information for non-US citizens though.

 

[Wolverine27]

Originally posted by: JJMcKay
You wouldn't happen to wear a suit that's covered in question marks would you?

LOL!

 

[Yossarian]

Originally posted by: ETan
Clothes... old keyboard... mice.... misc junk.... i guess it could be worth $100 because of the amount of clothings. So is it ok to say $100? Or is that a bad idea?

I'm more interested in finding detailed source of information for non-US citizens though.

Sounds low to me You should have no problem with that amount. Keep in mind that I'm not a tax attorney, but I have learned some good stuff over the years.

 

[AmigaMan]

I can see it now, one year from now a post will be made in the Off-Topic forum titled: "I just got audited by the IRS" They'll say, "But some person in Hot Deals told me I could deduct $5000 without a receipt for my moldy underwear..."

What I'm trying to say is all you people who are asking for tax advice would be better off talking to a tax attorney or someone who knows what they're talking about. Not some schmuck on an online forum. No offense to you all who IRL are tax attorney's or who do this for a living. BTW those links are great, it'll sure help on determining the value of the moldy underwear I donated.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: PipBoy

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin
That's exactly what I was looking for too. Anyone have info on putting a value on PC hardware? My best guess is that you wouldn't have any problems deducting the original price of the it (nice $3K deduction for that P/100 I bought in '95) but can anyone back this up or offer other advice?

I can't answer your question directly because I don't know, but I will say that you can write off the system's depreciation if you use it for business purposes. For example I do some design work from my home computer and answer emails from overseas that I wouldn't see at work until the next day, so my computer magically becomes a business expense.

I don't want to burst your bubble, but I don't believe you can simply deduct the cost of your computer because you use it occasionally for your non-home-based job. I looked into doing that because I was doing some work at home (yes, work that it was all but impossible to do at the work site) and the rules did not allow it. I don't remember the specifics. Magic does not apply here... this is the IRS.

 

[Bob61]

That's exactly what I was looking for too. Anyone have info on putting a value on PC hardware? My best guess is that you wouldn't have any problems deducting the original price of the it (nice $3K deduction for that P/100 I bought in '95) but can anyone back this up or offer other advice?

First, I'm not a tax expert by any means, however my mom is, really she is (hi mom).

Second, the IRS allows you to deduct the FAIR MARKET VALUE, not the cost. The FAIR MARKET VALUE is the value that you would receive in an "arms length" transaction (not some deal between you and a buddy). You want an estimate of what PC equipment from 1995 is worth? Use Ebay as a basis - about 5 bucks plus shipping

Third, this thread was started with the intent to provide information for people to reasonably value their used items, not cheat the IRS. Don't undervalue what your deductions are, but by all means do not intentionally overvalue them either, that's the same as stealing. Won't get into the whole "government can afford it more than I can" discussion, hell the guy on the gold coast here in Chicago can afford more than I can to and it don't make it right to steal from him either!

Fourth... well, donating lets everyone win. You clear some space, get a nice reduction in your taxes, the less fortunate get a load of clothing, home appliances, etc. that they sorely need.

 

[Bob61]

Originally posted by: WHSLacrossekid
Keep an eye out on trash nite for Sofas you can take to Sal Val

This is WRONG advice to give. If you are going to lie, heck you might as well just lie that you gave a couch to the Salvation Army - sheesh!

Everyone - please do not provide advise on how to cheat and steal.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Bob61

Originally posted by: WHSLacrossekid
Keep an eye out on trash nite for Sofas you can take to Sal Val

This is WRONG advice to give. If you are going to lie, heck you might as well just lie that you gave a couch to the Salvation Army - sheesh!

Everyone - please do not provide advise on how to cheat and steal.

Maybe that's what he meant, dunno, but I'm sitting on a chair I found during one of my neighborhoods' annual trash day. A little "reapolstering" job and it's served me for almost a decade. Not stylish but I can sit in it for hours on end comfortably. Yeah, and I've been doing my taxes on it (Turbotax, but if you get TT, read the fine print if you want your rebates, folks... Last year, you had to apply within 30 days of purchase to get the rebate for the _free_ state version)

 

[Loqutious]

I don't want to burst your bubble, but I don't believe you can simply deduct the cost of your computer because you use it occasionally for your non-home-based job. I looked into doing that because I was doing some work at home (yes, work that it was all but impossible to do at the work site) and the rules did not allow it. I don't remember the specifics. Magic does not apply here... this is the IRS.

Actually, as a volunteer tax preparer while in the military, I learned straight from the IRS that you CAN deduct the depreciation on a home PC if you use it to manage investments that earn taxable interest. So if you have an e*trade account and some stock, or a mutual fund that you can trade into/out of online, you can follow the IRS's depreciation rules which spread the actual purchase price of a PC over several years. Granted, you'll have to itemize to claim this, and it falls under the category where you have to exceed 2% of you adjusted gross income to claim any deduction, but if you have other expenses in this category it can be a great deduction.