Will donations to Goodwill for things like clothing and furniture be deductible next year?

[xmasbaby0 · Accepted solution]

Charitable donations can still be entered as a deduction when you prepare your tax return next year for 2018, which you will file in 2019.  It will be harder to get the deduction, since your standard deduction will be higher under the new tax laws that will be in effect.

A charitable donation almost never changes your tax due or refund all by itself.  First, your donation does not count "dollar for dollar"--it is calculated by a percentage based on your tax bracket.  You need a LOT of other itemized deductions like mortgage interest or property taxes, medical expense, etc. to itemize and exceed your standard deduction.

[ghalelowe]

Yes, but unlikely you will meet threshold of standard deduction which was raised significantly. So not really.

[amylaly]

I cannot find the table for calculating the value of stuff donated to goodwill

[BillM223]

There is no table in TurboTax for estimating the value of donated goods. The IRS places this responsibility on the taxpayer.

Two of the most popular ways of valuating charitable donations are by using the Valuation Guides from Goodwill and Salvation Army.

These two outfits list the typical prices for which they sell the kinds of items you tend to donate to them. One does the value at "good" condition, "better" and "best". The other gives you the lowest value and the highest value (so taking the average between the two is a safe bet).

Go to your favorite search engine and search for "Goodwill Salvation Army Valuation Guides". You will get a number of hits, because they each have a number of regional organizations, some with their own listings. 

Look for a recent listing (2019 or 2020). I noticed one high-ranking hit in this search the other day (i.e., on the first page) of a 2010 valuation guide - don't undersell yourself.

Also, you may have to approximate a valuation - if the site doesn't have a value for womens t-shirts, but does for mens t-shirts, use it.

Note that you will find it helpful in case of an audit if you print the pages of the valuation guides that you used and saved them with your tax papers.