Unfortunately, no.
Individuals are cash basis taxpayers. You are only taxed on income in the year
it is paid, or made available, to you. In similar fashion, you can only deduct
expenses that have actually been paid in the tax year.
For in-kind contributions of clothing, furniture, and household goods, this means that the items must actually be transferred into the possession of the charity before December 31.
With respect to cash contributions, it is worth noting
that an expense is considered paid in a tax year if you charged the item to a
credit card or paid the expense with borrowed funds, even if the credit card
balance or loan balance had not been paid by year-end. This may be useful with some contributions made at or near year-end.
