Do I need original purchase receipts when donating to Goodwill/Salvation Army for tax deductions?

Thanks for the info! Quick follow up question - how detailed does the donation receipt need to be? Like if I donate 20 items of clothing, does the receipt need to list each individual piece or can it just say "bag of clothes"? Also, if I make multiple donations throughout the year, do I need to keep separate receipts for each trip?

The receipt doesn't need to list every single item individually, but "bag of clothes" is probably too vague. Something like "5 men's shirts, 3 pairs of women's pants, 4 children's dresses" is better. You want enough detail to support your valuation. You absolutely should keep receipts for each separate donation trip. Each receipt should have the date and location of that specific donation. The IRS looks at these as separate transactions, and if you're ever audited, having documentation for each trip will be important. I recommend taking photos of your donations before dropping them off as extra support for your records.

I'm intrigued but skeptical. How is this different from just looking up Goodwill's donation value guide online? Does it actually help with anything else tax-related or is it just for donations?

How does the service handle multiple donations throughout the year? I donate almost monthly and tracking everything manually is becoming a real pain.

The difference is it does much more than just lookup values. It analyzes your donation receipts, helps categorize items properly, flags when you need additional forms, and provides proper documentation formatting that meets IRS requirements. I was able to upload photos of my donation piles and it helped estimate reasonable values while creating an audit-ready file. The service tracks multiple donations throughout the year, consolidating everything for tax time. You can just snap photos of receipts after each donation trip, and it organizes everything chronologically. It reminds you what documentation you need based on value thresholds and generates the necessary forms when you exceed $500 in non-cash donations. It handles many other tax documents too - not just donation records.

How does this actually work? I don't understand how a third party can get you through phone queues faster. Are they just calling for you or something?

This sounds like BS. If the Salvation Army isn't answering calls, how would this service magically get them to pick up? Seems like you're just paying for them to wait on hold instead of you.

They use a system that navigates phone trees and waits on hold for you. Once someone actually answers, you get a call back and are instantly connected to the real person. It's not magic - they're basically taking the hold-time burden off you. I was skeptical too, but it works because they're not doing anything you couldn't do yourself - they're just using technology to handle the frustrating waiting part. The difference is instead of you sitting on hold for 2 hours, you get a call when there's actually a human ready to talk. For busy customer service lines like the IRS or major charities during tax season, it's absolutely worth it.

What kind of photos did he take? Just like the bags of stuff or did he lay everything out individually? Seems like a lot of work if you're donating a lot of items at once.

He doesn't photograph every single item individually, but now he takes photos of items grouped by category and laid out so you can see them. Like "men's clothes" in one photo showing all the shirts, pants, etc. spread out. "Kitchen items" in another showing the appliances, dishes, etc. It's a bit of extra work but only takes a few minutes. He organizes things for the photos, then puts them back in bags/boxes for transport. The photos provide visual proof of quantity, condition, and type of items to support the values claimed. His tax preparer said this approach provides excellent documentation if questioned.

This is really helpful, thanks! Do you know if other thrift organizations publish similar guides? I usually donate to a local church thrift shop and wonder if I should be using the Salvation Army values or looking elsewhere.

Yes, Goodwill also publishes a donation value guide that's similar to Salvation Army's. The values are generally comparable between the two. For local church thrift shops, you can typically use either the Salvation Army or Goodwill guide as a reference - the IRS just wants you to use a reasonable basis for your valuation. If you want to be extra cautious, you could check the prices at your local church thrift shop to see what similar items sell for there. Just make notes of the actual selling prices you observe, which can provide additional support for your claimed values. The key is having some rational, consistent method for determining the values.

Great advice about keeping a donation log! I'm just starting to get serious about tracking my donations and this is really helpful. Quick question about the vintage guitar situation - do you know roughly what threshold makes it worth getting an appraisal? Like if I think something might be worth $100 vs $500 vs $1000, where's the line where an appraisal becomes necessary or at least smart financially? Also, for electronics donations, how do you handle items that have depreciated significantly? I have some old laptops and phones that were expensive when new but are probably worth very little now. Do you just estimate based on what similar used items sell for online?

For appraisals, the IRS requires a qualified appraisal for any single item (or group of similar items) valued over $5,000. But practically speaking, it might be worth getting an appraisal for items you think could be worth $1,000+ since the cost of the appraisal (usually $100-300) becomes worthwhile relative to the potential tax benefit. For electronics, you're absolutely right to look at current used market values. Check what similar items are actually selling for on eBay, Facebook Marketplace, or other resale platforms. A laptop you bought for $2,000 three years ago might only be worth $200-400 now due to depreciation. The IRS expects fair market value at the time of donation, which for electronics is typically much lower than original purchase price. Pro tip: For electronics, also consider the condition honestly. If there are scratches, slow performance, or missing accessories, that affects the value significantly. I usually check "sold" listings on eBay rather than current asking prices to get a realistic sense of what people actually pay for similar used items.

This is such helpful advice, especially the tip about keeping a donation box year-round! I've been doing the "one massive cleanout" approach and it's always overwhelming trying to document everything at once. Quick question about the charity apps - do these digital receipts have all the same information the IRS requires? I'm wondering if they automatically include things like the charity's tax ID number and proper acknowledgment language, or if I still need to make sure I'm getting complete documentation from the organization. Also, love the point about being conservative with valuations. I'd rather claim a bit less and sleep well at night than risk an audit over inflated donation values. Better to get some deduction than potentially lose it all if questioned!