Do under $250, $250-500, $500+ record keeping requirements for noncash donations apply to total amount of all donations, or just to each single donation?

[hazelwoods]

For example in one year, say I give $200 worth of noncash goods to Goodwill in January, $200 worth of goods to AKS in July, and another $200 to Goodwill in November. Which rule do I follow?

1) the $500+ record keeping requirement since my total noncash donations exceed $500

2) the "under $250" record keeping requirement for all 3 donations since they occurred separately and were less than $250 each

3) the "under $250" requirement for the AKS donation and the "$250-500" requirement for the Goodwill donations since their total for the tax year was $400?

[Iris1 · Accepted solution]

Deductions of Less Than $250

If you make any non-cash contribution, you must get and keep a receipt from the charitable organization showing:

1. The name of the charitable organization,

2. The date and location of the charitable contribution, and

3. A reasonably detailed description of the property.

Deductions of At Least $250 But Not More Than $500

If you claim a deduction of at least $250 but not more than $500 for a non-cash charitable contribution, you must get and keep an acknowledgment of your contribution from the qualified organization. If you made more than one contribution of $250 or more, you must have either a separate acknowledgment for each or one acknowledgment that shows your total contributions.

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p526/ar02.html#en_US_2014_publink1000229839

[hazelwoods]

That's not what I was asking. I want to know if the various record keeping requirement thresholds apply to all total donations, all total donations to each entity, or each individual donation.

[Iris1]

It is up to you how you report it, as long as you have and keep good records of each transaction. Using the examples you provided, Number 2 is not such a bad choice.  I revised the previous answer to give you IRS interpretation of non-cash donations.

[Iris1]

https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/4449943