Can I deduct furniture removal fees when donating to charity? (Plus FMV deduction question)

The short answer is no, you generally can't deduct the fee you pay for the pickup service. According to IRS guidelines, costs you incur to donate items (like transportation or removal fees) are not considered part of the charitable contribution and therefore aren't tax deductible. What you can deduct is the fair market value (FMV) of the furniture at the time of donation. Make sure you get a receipt from the organization that includes a description of the donated items. If your total non-cash donations exceed $500 for the year, you'll need to fill out Form 8283 and attach it to your tax return. One thing to consider - if the removal company is itself a 501(c)(3) charity (not just working with charities), then the fee might potentially be considered a separate charitable donation. But from your description, it sounds like they're a service provider working with charities, not a charity themselves.

I was in almost the exact same situation last year and spent hours researching this. I finally found a solution that worked! I used taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) to analyze my donation receipts and situation. The tool actually showed me that while the removal fee itself isn't deductible as a charitable donation, in my case it qualified as a miscellaneous itemized deduction since I was clearing out a home office space that I use for my side business. The system analyzed my receipts and donation documentation then explained exactly how to properly report everything. It even spotted that my donation included some electronics that qualified for a higher valuation than I initially thought. Definitely worth checking to see if your situation might have some angle I missed!

I was really skeptical about what Profile 4 said, but I decided to try taxr.ai anyway because I had a bunch of donation receipts piling up. It actually saved me a ton of time figuring out the fair market value of everything! The system analyzed my donations and showed me that while I couldn't deduct the removal fees as charitable donations (just like people said here), I HAD been undervaluing some of my furniture based on comparative values. The receipt analysis feature was super helpful - it caught that my charity had incorrectly categorized some items which would have caused problems if I'd been audited. Definitely not what I expected but it made the whole donation deduction process way less stressful!

Here's another angle - have you tried calling the IRS directly to get a definitive answer? I know, I know... getting through to them is basically impossible these days. After spending HOURS on hold last month for a similar tax question, I finally found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and it was a game-changer. They have this system that navigates the IRS phone tree for you and calls you back when an actual human agent is on the line! You can see how it works in their demo video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was able to speak to an IRS agent who confirmed what others here are saying about donation removal fees not being deductible, but they also gave me specific guidance on how to properly document the fair market value of my furniture donations to maximize the legitimate deduction. Totally worth the time saved!

I feel like I need to follow up on my skeptical comment above. After reading more reviews, I decided to try Claimyr for an unrelated tax issue I've been trying to resolve for MONTHS. I'm actually shocked to report that it worked exactly as advertised. Got a call back with an actual IRS agent on the line within about 45 minutes when I had previously spent 4+ hours on hold and got disconnected. The agent I spoke with confirmed what others have said here about donation pickup fees not being deductible as charitable contributions. But she also explained that proper documentation of the furniture's fair market value is critical - photos before donation, detailed descriptions, and comparable prices from secondhand stores are all helpful if you're ever questioned about the valuation.

Another thing to consider - if you're not already itemizing deductions on your tax return, then this whole discussion might be moot. You can only deduct charitable donations if you itemize rather than take the standard deduction. With the higher standard deduction amounts since the 2017 tax law changes, many fewer people find it beneficial to itemize. For 2025 filing, the standard deduction is expected to be around $13,850 for single filers and $27,700 for married filing jointly. Unless your total itemized deductions (including all charitable donations, mortgage interest, state/local taxes up to $10k, etc.) exceed those thresholds, you'll get more benefit from just taking the standard deduction anyway.

One trick I learned from my accountant - if the furniture is valuable enough, you could sell it yourself and then donate the cash directly to the charity. That way you avoid the pickup fee entirely, and you can deduct 100% of the cash donation (assuming you itemize). Cash donations are also easier to document than property donations.

Just wanted to add another perspective here - I actually work for a nonprofit that partners with furniture removal companies like the one you described. The key distinction is whether the removal company is acting as your agent or as the charity's agent in the transaction. If you're paying the removal company directly and they're providing a service to you (picking up your stuff), then that fee isn't deductible even though the end result benefits charity. However, if the charity itself is contracting with the removal company and asking you to cover the cost, that might be different - but you'd need documentation showing this arrangement. Also, make sure you're getting your donation receipt from the actual 501(c)(3) charity, not from the removal company. The charity should be able to provide you with their tax ID number and a proper acknowledgment letter for your donation records. Some of these removal companies try to issue their own receipts which can cause problems during an audit.