How much are your non-cash donations to charity worth for a tax deduction? Tax deduction tracking software can help you get a bigger tax deduction for charitable contributions and other tax deductible expenses.
Are You Undervaluing Charitable Donations?
Donating to Charity
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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?
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?
The IRS Says Take the Highest Tax Deduction
IRS Schedule A
Influx Productions / Getty Images
Many people do not take the full tax deduction they are entitled to 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 of the fair market value of donations to qualifying charities.
IRS Publications 526 - Charitable Contributions and 561 - Determining the Value of Donated Property both indicate that taxpayers are entitled to tax deductions of the fair market value of donations to qualifying charities.
Get Higher Tax Deductions and Get Organized
Get Your Finances Organized
Getty Images
Charitable contribution 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 of tax deduction tracking software: use it throughout the year to record donations and other tax deductible expenses, and you are all organized when it is time to prepare your income taxes.
Another advantage of tax deduction tracking software: use it throughout the year to record donations and other tax deductible expenses, and you are all organized when it is time to prepare your income taxes.
TaxCut DeductionPro
DeductionPro
Copyright H&R Block Digital Tax Solutions, LLC
Screen Shot by Shelley Elmblad
TaxCut DeductionPro tracks donations to charity and other tax deductible expenses. DeductionPro Online is free and has a handy Quick Lookup feature to find values for non-cash donations without entering them into the software. Taxcut DeductionPro for Mac or Windows is the only option for desktop tax deduction tracking software, with a cost of $20.
DeductionTraQ
Copyright 2007 DeductionTraQ LLC. All rights reserved.
Screen shot by Shelley Elmblad
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
TurboTax ItsDeductible Online
Copyright 2008 Intuit Inc. All rights reserved.
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.
