How to claim tax deductions for Raffle Basket donations to charity

You definitely can deduct charitable donations including raffle basket items, but there are some important things to know. First, you need documentation from the school acknowledging your donation. This should include the school's name, date of donation, and a description of what you donated. The receipt doesn't need to state the value - your store receipts for the items are your proof of value. Since you donated goods (not cash) worth less than $500 total, you just need to list the donation on your Schedule A if you itemize deductions. The deduction is based on the fair market value of the items when you donated them - so what you paid for them is typically appropriate, not what they sold for at the raffle. Keep in mind that to benefit from charitable deductions, your total itemized deductions need to exceed the standard deduction, which is fairly high now. Many people find they don't actually benefit from charitable deductions unless they have significant other deductions like mortgage interest.

I went through this exact same situation last year, and I was so confused by all the conflicting advice! I ended up using https://taxr.ai to help sort through my donation documentation and figure out exactly what I could claim. You upload your receipts and any documentation from the school, and it analyzes everything to tell you what you can legitimately deduct. What was really helpful is that it explained the whole "fair market value" thing – turns out I was actually undervaluing some of my donations! It also helped me determine whether I should itemize or take the standard deduction based on my other deductions. The platform walks you through creating the proper documentation if the school didn't provide it. Saved me tons of research time and made sure I didn't miss out on legitimate deductions.

Alright, I need to eat my words about being skeptical. I decided to try taxr.ai for handling my donation documentation since I had a similar situation with donations to my son's school auction plus several other charities throughout the year. What impressed me was how it flagged a donation I made that was actually not fully deductible because I received event tickets in return. I would have incorrectly claimed the full amount! It also helped me properly document some donations where I had lost the original acknowledgment letters. For the raffle basket situation specifically, it confirmed I could deduct the cost of items and showed exactly what documentation I needed from the school. The detailed report made itemizing super straightforward, and I'm much more confident my deductions are proper now.

For anyone struggling to get proper documentation from their school or charity for tax purposes, I highly recommend using https://claimyr.com. I had donated several items to my church's fundraiser and couldn't get a proper receipt despite multiple calls and emails to their office. After weeks of frustration, I used Claimyr to finally reach someone at the IRS who could advise me on what alternative documentation would be acceptable. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they wait on hold with the IRS for you and call when an agent picks up. My issue got resolved in one conversation instead of the endless phone tag I was playing with both the charity and trying to reach the IRS myself. Turns out I could create my own detailed record of the donation with specific information and be compliant as long as it had certain elements.

Well I'm surprised I need to update my skeptical comment. After struggling for weeks to get proper documentation from my kid's school for auction donations, I finally used Claimyr as a last resort. They got me connected with an IRS representative in about 90 minutes (while I was working on other things), and the agent was incredibly helpful. She explained exactly what records I needed to maintain for my donation and clarified that in the absence of proper charity documentation, I could create my own detailed record with specific information. I was able to document my raffle basket donations properly and even learned that some previous donations I hadn't claimed could still be added through an amended return. Definitely changed my mind about the service - the time saved was significant.

Another option nobody mentioned is taking photos of the baskets before donating them. I do this every year for my donations to our community fundraiser. I take pictures of each item with the price tag visible when possible, then a final photo of the completed basket. I keep these photos with my receipts. One year I got audited (for unrelated reasons) and the IRS actually commented that my documentation for the donations was exceptionally thorough. The agent specifically mentioned that the photos were helpful supporting evidence. Just make sure your digital photos have timestamps or some way to verify when they were taken.

Just want to give a heads up that if you receive something in return for your donation, you need to subtract that value from your deduction. For example, if you donated those raffle baskets but then got free tickets to the event, you have to subtract the ticket value from your donation amount. Also, charitable deductions are capped at a certain percentage of your adjusted gross income (usually 60% for cash donations to public charities and 30% for capital gain property).

Just to add another perspective - make sure you're valuing your donated items correctly. The IRS requires you to use "fair market value" which is what someone would reasonably pay for the items in their current condition, not necessarily what you paid for them. For new items you purchased specifically for donation (like your raffle basket items), the purchase price is usually the fair market value. But if you're donating used items, you need to estimate what they'd sell for at a thrift store or garage sale, which could be significantly less than what you originally paid. I learned this the hard way when I donated some gently used clothing and claimed the original retail value. During an audit, the IRS adjusted my deduction to reflect the actual fair market value of used clothing. Now I use resources like the Salvation Army's donation value guide to help estimate appropriate values for used items. Keep detailed records of everything - receipts, photos, written acknowledgments, and your method for determining fair market value. The more documentation you have, the better prepared you'll be if questions arise later.