Higher Tax Deductions for Donations to Charity

You pack the trunk of your car with books you have read, music CDs with only decent two songs on them, still-functional-but-replaced kitchen gadgets and all the clothes the kids have grown out of. Then, you drive 12 miles to the nearest Goodwill to donate your stuff to charity.

Did you make a list of your items before donating them to charity? Good! Now, how much are they worth to you as an income tax deduction? Did you know the miles driven between your home and the charitable donation center are tax deductible as well?

Many people do not take the full tax deduction they have coming for charitable contributions because they underestimate fair market values for donations.

IRS Publications 526 - Charitable Contributions and 561 - Determining the Value of Donated Property both indicate that taxpayers are entitled to tax deductions worth the fair market value of donations to qualifying charities.

Tax deduction tracking software uses data from IRS-approved sources to find the highest fair market value for items donated to charity. Higher values assigned to charitable donations mean higher income tax deductions.

Another advantage this software offers: use it throughout the year to record donations and other tax deductible expenses, and you're organized when it's time to prepare income taxes.

DeductionTraQ is online charitable donation tracking software that uploads images from photos and receipts to substantiate tax deductible contributions. DeductionTraQ has a free membership, or pay $15 for valuable features in the premier membership.

TurboTax ItsDeductible Online has an easy-to-use interface and includes a real-time online community to get answers to tax deduction questions. TurboTax ItsDeductible Online is free.

CharityDeductions.com presents neatly organized data entry screens that are easy to use. The charitable contribution reports are excellent, and you can set up your account so an accountant can view your data. Click on Information at the top of CharityDeductions.com to get answers to questions about tax deductible contributions. $40 buys a two year subscription and there is a 30 day money back guarantee.

CharityDeductions.com offers TaxPro Partnership Program to tax professionals, with a free account to for tracking clients’ charitable deduction reports online.