Charitable Donations Fair Market Values

With tax season here, I made a trip to Goodwill to figure out the

FeedbackBy Preston Hunt, 22 February 2003

This year, I made several trips down to Goodwill with a carful of donations. If you itemize your taxes, the IRS lets you deduct the fair market value of any non-cash donations that you make to charity, but of course they give you no guidance on how much you can deduct. They suggest that you go to a thrift store and compare prices on items similar to those that you donated, so I did just that. These are my findings. All of this stuff is used unless otherwise noted.

Bed sheets $2.99/each piece
Big plate $0.99
Cheap backpack $2.99
Collared short-sleeve shirts $4
Computer software $4.99-12.99
Denim skirt $6-8
Dress shoes $5
Drinking glasses $0.50
Fax machine $24.99
Hardback books $2.99-4.99
Jeans $7.99
Khakis $7.99
Leather briefcase $9.99
Paperback books $1.99
Pillows $3.00
Pillowcase $0.50
Shorts $3.99-5.99
Shorts $3.99-5.99
Shot glasses $0.99
Silverware $0.49/each
Ski poles $2.99
Small plate $0.49
Sneakers $2.99
Stereo receiver $59.99
Sweater $1.19
T-shirts $2.99 (!)
Textbooks $4.99-14.99
Toy metal car $0.99
Trench coat $8.99
Women's blouse $5.99
Wooden chair $19.99