Moving Day Donations

By Scott Boone

Image from Creative Commons

Since this is the season of giving, I thought I would take the time to walk you through the ins and outs of donating some of your belongings to charity prior to a move.  While donations can be a blessing to the charity receiving them, if you are looking to maximize the benefits in terms of efficiency and tax deductibility, there are a few things you need to be made aware.

The Many Faces of Moving

Just as organizing a move can be something of a military operation, so too can be deciding what you wish to donate.  Fortunately, the two tasks are not mutually exclusive.  Here is the shortlist of how and when to make donating work hand in hand with packing.

      1.      The Early Bird – Before you even start the monumental task of packing, you should first take stock of which of your belongings you no longer long to keep.  What I mean by that, is there are several places in your home that are used to park seldom if ever used belongings.  These are the garage, the attic, the crawlspace and the tops and backs of closets.  Whether you are looking to get a jump start on packing or unloading these seldom used items, this is a great place to start. 

      2.      Room-to-Room – Once you have separated the chaff from the wheat, the next task to determine what goes and what stays is to go from room-to-room, looking for items that you and your family can well do without.  These items can be anything from furniture and fixtures, to clothing, toys and appliances that you no longer have a desire to use again.  Culling the herd not only helps you lighten the load, which will save you both time and money come moving day, but it also helps you decide what items you wish to sell and which items you wish to donate to charity.

      3.      Late Bloomers – As a rule, even when you’ve done everything possible to weed out what is coming and what is going on moving day, there are usually a number of items that fall through the cracks.  Or, you haven’t sold everything at your last-minute yard sale and now have no idea of what to do with these items.  Better than stacking these on the curb to get picked up on trash day, why not donate them to charity?

Which Charities Do You Choose?

Image courtesy of Pixabay

Just as no two snowflakes are exactly alike, so too are no two charities are created equal.  In order to decide which charities to bestow your donations, you need to take several things into consideration:

   

      1.      What do you wish to donate? – Depending upon the donations you intend to make, you need to find a charity that will accept them.  Some charities are quite picky about what they will and won’t accept.  Also, most charities are specific about how items are presented to them.  For instance, if you intend to donate anything fragile, like drinking glasses or dishes, make sure you pack and label them appropriately.  This goes doubly should you intend to donate cutlery.  If you intend on donating electronics, such as a computer, PDA or cellphone, make sure you erase, or better yet, replace the memory card.  This way your donation won’t come back to bite you by exposing any personal or financial information to the next owner.

      2.      Is transportation a problem? – While you may not have any trouble carting your load of clothing, dishes or toys to a local charity drop-off, if you are looking to donate furniture, you might need to find a charity that is willing to provide a truck and a couple of burly movers to cart off your donation.

The Devil’s in the Details

If you intend on getting a tax deduction for your donated goods, here are a few guidelines:

   

      1.      How much can you claim for clothing and household items? – As a rule, you can deduct the fair market value of clothing or household items you donate.  However, the trick is in determining the “fair market value.”  While you may have paid $500 for that donated laptop computer, trying to deduct the retail value is frowned upon by the IRS.  Better to go on craigslist and see what others are selling the same 5-year old laptop for, as opposed to guessing its value.  You don’t want your donation to trigger a tax audit.

      2.      What charitable organizations qualify? – If you intend to donate goods, make sure the charity you choose is a “qualified charitable organization.”  As a rule, the following organizations usually qualify: religious organizations, non-profit health clinics, non-profit educational institutions, veteran’s groups, service organizations, and organizations dedicated to preventing cruelty to animals or children.  When in doubt, consult your local CPA to determine eligibility.

Image courtesy of  flickr

      3.      How do you document a charitable donation? – Keeping detailed records of charitable contributions is a must.  Better still, request a receipt from the charity to which you make a donation.  The IRS requires you to acquire written confirmation of any donation that exceeds a value of $250.  They also require you to fill out a Form 8238 Section A for any non-cash donations of $500 or more.  If your non-cash contribution exceeds $5,000 in value, you are also required to fill out a Form 8238 Section B. 

      4.      What to do come tax time – In order to claim a deduction for any donation to a qualified charity on your tax return, the IRS requires you to itemize them. You are also required to fill out the correct State and Federal forms for the donations you make. To find out more about claiming deductions for charitable contributions, refer to the following website maintained by the US government as well as IRS Publication 526.

      5.      Beware of charity scams – As with other facets of modern life, you need to beware of scam artists who prey on the public.  No sooner will you start doing research online concerning a move when you will be contacted by various “entities” who purport to work with or for various charitable organizations.  When in doubt, weed them out by contacting any charity yourself, rather than taking the word of any middleman you meet online.  The Grinch is alive and well online I’m afraid.

With over 4,000 moves, Scott's Discount Movers has handled moves of all sizes, including local and cross country. If you are looking to move your home or office, you can depend on Scott's Discount Movers to provide a stress-free relocation.