Estimated donation value for Goodwill/Salvation Army - what's a reasonable amount to claim?

The key with clothing and household item donations is to be reasonable and have some documentation to back up your claims. The IRS doesn't expect you to have detailed receipts for every single item, but you should have a general list of what you donated and reasonable estimated values. For clothing and household items, you can only deduct the "fair market value" - which is basically what someone would pay for the items in their used condition at a thrift store, not what you originally paid. There are several donation value guides online from organizations like Salvation Army and Goodwill that provide estimated ranges for common items. If you donated "a fair amount" that included furniture and lots of household items, $3,000-3,500 could be reasonable depending on quantity and quality. Just make sure you can justify it with at least a general list of items. And yes, donations over $5,000 require a qualified written appraisal.

I had this exact same issue last year and found an awesome solution! I used https://taxr.ai to help figure out the right values for all my donated items. You basically describe what you donated (or even upload photos) and it helps you calculate fair market values based on condition. It saved me hours of trying to research values item by item, and gave me confidence my numbers were reasonable. The best part was it organized everything into a proper format for tax filing. Since you mentioned various household items and furniture, this would probably be really helpful for your situation!

Just wanted to follow up - I tried https://taxr.ai after my skeptical question and wow, it was actually really helpful! I uploaded pics from my phone of donations I made last month and it identified most items correctly and suggested values that seemed fair. The documentation it generated looks way more professional than what I would have cobbled together. I'm definitely using this for all my 2025 donations. Wish I had known about this for my previous years' donations too!

If you're having trouble getting through to the IRS to ask about donation values or any other tax questions, I highly recommend using https://claimyr.com. I spent DAYS trying to reach a human at the IRS about my donation questions last year and kept getting disconnected. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes! You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The agent was able to clarify exactly what documentation I needed for my charitable donations and what would trigger a red flag. Totally worth it when you need answers from the actual IRS rather than just guessing.

Ok I feel like I need to eat my words here. After being super skeptical about that Claimyr service, I was desperate enough to try it when dealing with a donation question for my amended return. Not only did it actually work, but I got through to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes when I had previously wasted 3+ hours trying on my own. The agent confirmed that for clothing and household donations under $5,000, they mainly look for reasonable values that match the quantity described. She said they typically only flag returns when the values are obviously inflated (like claiming $4,000 for "two bags of clothes"). So for the original question, if you donated "lots" of items including furniture, $3,000-3,500 is probably fine if you can at least list the major categories of items.

I'm a regular Goodwill donor and I've been claiming donations for years. Here's my approach: I keep a spreadsheet with categories like "men's shirts" or "kitchen items" and track quantities throughout the year. Then I use the Salvation Army donation value guide (just google it) which gives ranges for different items. For example, men's shirts might be $2-12 each depending on condition. I usually go middle-of-the-road on values unless it was something really nice. Last year I donated about what you described (furniture, lots of clothes, household stuff) and claimed around $2,800 without any issues. Whatever you do, don't claim $4,999 just because $5,000 requires an appraisal. That's exactly the kind of thing that looks suspicious.

Wait I thought you needed receipts with specific items listed? My tax guy told me the IRS wont accept vague donation receipts anymore?? Now I'm confused.

I went through this exact situation a few years ago and learned some hard lessons. The most important thing is to be conservative and realistic with your valuations. I made the mistake of being too aggressive with my estimates and got a letter from the IRS asking for documentation. Here's what I wish I had known: Keep it simple and reasonable. For clothes, use $2-5 per item for basic stuff, maybe $8-12 for nicer pieces in good condition. For household items, think about what you'd actually pay for them at a thrift store, not what you paid originally. Furniture can vary widely but be conservative. $3,500 isn't automatically a red flag, but make sure you can back it up with at least a general list of categories and quantities. I now keep a simple log throughout the year - just "10 shirts, 5 pairs pants, 1 coffee table, etc." Takes 2 minutes but saves headaches later. Also remember what others mentioned about the standard deduction - make sure itemizing actually benefits you before going through all this effort!

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is that you can actually deduct charitable donations even if you don't itemize, but only up to $300 ($600 if married filing jointly) for cash donations. This is called the "above-the-line" deduction and it's separate from itemizing. However, this only applies to cash donations, not goods like clothing and household items. For donated goods, you do need to itemize to get any benefit, which means your total itemized deductions need to exceed the standard deduction. Given that you mentioned donating physical items rather than cash, you'd need to itemize to claim these donations. Just make sure your total itemizable deductions (including state taxes, mortgage interest, medical expenses over 7.5% of AGI, AND your charitable donations) add up to more than the standard deduction ($14,600 for single filers in 2025) before spending too much time on valuation.