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If you’ve been good this year, then you might want to make room for all the gifts Santa (or his surrogates) will deliver this week.
One way to do that is to give your old stuff to charity. Most nonprofits will accept household items and clothing, but they ask that your donations be things that bargain hunters can use. This same request is an official one from the Internal Revenue Service.
Donate only clothing and other old or no longer used or wanted items that are in good or better shape. Goodwill, Salvation Army, your local nonprofit thrift shop, and all their peer operations across the United States are not dumping grounds for threadbare clothes or a toaster oven that doesn’t work.
If the IRS finds out you claimed a tax deduction for a bunch of crap, the agency will disallow your tax break. I know, it’s a difficult claim for the IRS to check. So, Uncle Sam’s tax collector and the charitable groups accepting property donations are depending on you being a good person who gives things that are worth repurchasing.
That’s why valuing your donations of items is key to claiming this tax break. Here’s a look at how to do that, along with other applicable tax deduction rules.
The goods on donating good goods: Of course, as with any donation, you must follow IRS rules.
As mentioned, there’s the one about the condition of the items. This requirement was implemented to prevent people from using nonprofit groups as dumping grounds for items that literally should go to the town landfill.
It’s officially spelled out in IRS Publication 526, Charitable Contributions, which states, “You can’t take a deduction for clothing or household items you donate unless the clothing or household items are in good used condition or better.”
Fair assessment of items’ worth: The other notable tax rule in claiming donated goods is the value of the items.
Although you’ll get a receipt for your donated goods — if you don’t, then think twice about dropping off your stuff; legitimate nonprofits provide documentation of gifts — it likely will be a blank slip. It is up to you, the donor, to determine what your donation was worth.
That’s the value of the item as is when donated, not what you paid for it when it was new. That assessment should be the item’s fair market value (FMV) at the time of the contribution.
If you’ve ever gone to flea markets, garage sales, or thrift stores and consignment shops, you’re familiar with FMV. But here’s the IRS definition to make sure: “Fair market value is the price at which property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither having to buy or sell, and both having reasonable knowledge of all the relevant facts.”
If you don’t have time to do in-store research of FMV amounts at shops in your area, review the tables below to help you get what you should for your donations without prompting added IRS interest. I’ve based the amounts on the latest valuation guidelines provided by Goodwill and the Salvation Army for items that are commonly dropped off at those charities’ donation facilities.
| CLOTHING, values from lowest to highest average | |||
| Clothing article | Women’s attire | Men’s attire | Children’s attire |
| Blouse, shirt | $3 to $12 | $3 to $12 | $2 to $8 |
| T-shirt | $1 to $6 | $1 to $6 | $1 to $4 |
| Sweater | $4 to $16 | $4 to $15 | $3 to $8 |
| Skirt | $3 to $12 | $2 to $6 | |
| Dress | $4 to $20 | $4 to $12 | |
| Slacks | $4 to $12 | $5 to $12 | $2 to $8 |
| Jeans | $4 to $21 | $4 to $21 | $4 to $12 |
| Business suit (2 piece) | $7 to $26 | $16 to $62 | |
| Vest | $3 to $9 | $3 to $9 | $1 to $3 |
| Overcoat | $7 to $40 | $16 to $62 | $5 to $21 |
| Shoes | $2 to $26 | $4 to $26 | $3 to $9 |
| Swimsuit | $4 to $12 | $3 to $8 | $1 to $6 |
| Handbag, briefcase, or backpack | $2 to $21 | $5 to $15 | $1 to $10 |
| Evening attire | $10 to $62 | $10 to $40 | |
| HOUSEHOLD GOODS | ||||
| Item | Low to High Value | Item | Low to High Value | |
| Kitchen utensils | $0.50 to $2 | Washing machine | $41 to $156 | |
| Glasses/mugs/cups | $0.50 to $2 | Dryer | $47 to $93 | |
| Plates | $0.50 to $3 | Color television | $78 to $233 | |
| Pots and pans | $1 to $3 | Radio | $8 to $52 | |
| Kitchen/dinette set | $36 to $176 | Stereo | $16 to $78 | |
| Sofa | $36 to $207 | VCR/DVD player | $8 to $16 | |
| Coffee table | $16 to $67 | Records, CDs, DVDs | $1 to $5 | |
| End table | $10 to $52 | Books, paperback | $1 to $2 | |
| Rug, room size | $21 to $93 | Books, hardcover | $1 to $3 | |
| Chair | $5 to $15 | Desk | $25 to $150 | |
| Bedroom set | $250 to $1,000 | Computer monitor | $5 to $51 | |
| Dresser w/mirror | $21 to $104 | Printer | $5 to $155 | |
| Bed linens | $2 to $8 | Lamp | $4 to $50 | |
| Quilt, bedspread | $3 to $24 | Vacuum cleaner | $16 to $67 | |
| Blanket, throws | $3 to $16 | Lawn mower | $26 to $104 | |
| Bath towels | $0.50 to $4 | Bicycle | $5 to $83 | |
| Air conditioner | $21 to $93 | Puzzles, board games | $0.50 to $3 | |
| Heater | $8 to $23 | Stuffed animals | $0.50 to $1 | |
| Electric stove | $78 to $156 | Ice skates | $3 to $16 | |
| Gas stove | $52 to $130 | Roller blades | $3 to $16 | |
| Microwave oven | $10 to $50 | Tennis racket | $3 to $5 | |
| Refrigerator | $78 to $259 | Golf clubs | $2 to $26 | |
Again, these are estimates and just suggested guidelines. Use your common sense in setting a realistic FMV for your donated items.
And it’s worth repeating, don’t exaggerate. While the IRS can’t send field agents to your local Goodwill, it’s been doing this long enough to know when a claim looks questionable.
If you grossly inflated an item’s worth, meaning your collective charitable donation claim is quite large, an IRS rep probably is going to get in touch with you about a clarification.
Not for all donors: Before you start pulling out apparel from your closet, make sure that your donations will pay off at tax filing time, if that’s why you’re giving.
For the 2025 tax year, you can claim these donations, as well as any other cash gifts to IRS-approved nonprofits, only if you itemize.
Since enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and its increased standard deduction amounts, itemizing is a rarity. But a few folks each filing season do find that detailing their deductible expenses provides more than the standard amount. So, they wisely use it.
And that could be the case for a few more this year. Tax code changes to charitable giving in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) that take effect in 2026 have prompted many filers and their tax advisers to review charitable donation strategies.
Those giving options and tax benefits are detailed in my earlier post, but the bottom line for many is that this might be the year to bunch charitable gifts and itemize.
Other philanthropic tax notes: Donations of clothing and household goods are subject to the same overall tax laws and IRS rules governing charitable gifts.
A key one is that your donated items (goods and/or cash) must go to a qualified charity in order to be claimed as a tax deduction. Yes, I know tax-savvy readers of the ol’ blog already spotted that IRS-authorized reference earlier in this post.
To make sure your nonprofit of choice is one of these, check out the IRS’ Tax Exempt Organization online search tool.
Several nonprofit watchdog groups also verify the legitimacy of nonprofits. Reputable charity checkers include Candid (the merged GuideStar and Foundation Center), Charity Navigator, the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance, and Charity Watch.
Also, keep good records of your donations. When it comes to clothing and household goods, you don’t have to send your donation details with your tax return. But if the IRS asks about any of your gifts, your complete and accurate records can help you prove that your donations and associated deduction are legit.
Receipts from the charities go a long way in validating your donations. Again, receipts generally don’t need to be filed with your tax return. They’re just for your use in case your gifts are questioned.
And as noted earlier in this post, if a charity refused to give or mail or email you a receipt, that’s a sign that it might not be legit.
Timing is everything: Finally, in order to claim the gifts as a tax deduction on your 2025 tax return, you must make them by Dec. 31.
When it comes to cash donations, the IRS says that if your check is postmarked by Dec. 31, it counts for that year, even if your charity gets the money in January.
But be careful here.
Effective this Christmas Eve, the U.S. Postal Service will apply machine postmarks at regional processing centers, not at local drop-off points. This means the postmark date could be several days after you hand over your mail to your neighborhood clerk.
To ensure your mailed check is dated on tax-claiming time, you can ask Postal Service staff to apply a manual (local) postmark. Or you can buy a Certificate of Mailing or use Registered/Certified Mail for proof of mailing date.
As for donations via a credit card, the tax date is when the charge is processed by your card issuer, not when you submit the donation online. If your credit card company is like mine, it runs charges through quickly. But to be safe, you might want to charge your gift a few days before Dec. 31.
Of course, if you’re dropping off your clothes and other household items at your local nonprofit, you’ll want to get there by Dec. 31. I recommend not waiting until the last day of the year. The hubby and I took our donations this afternoon, and there was a line. I suspect by next week, it will be longer.
If you are donating to a nonprofit, either via goods or cash, thanks. And if the tax benefits can help reduce your 2025 tax obligation, by all means claim your charitable gifts.
But even if you don’t deduct your donations, giving useful household items (or money) to your favorite reputable charities is a great way to feel good, during the holiday season and any time of year.
