Does IRS generally accept itsdeductable valuations

[DXS · Accepted solution]

It depends what you mean by "accept."  By "accept," do you mean:

A, If I am audited for this specific thing, will it pass muster

or

B.  I used It's Deductible values on my taxes, will it trigger an audit?

I have been using It's Deductible for YEARS, ever since it was on a CD you had to get by mail.  I have never had the values I used trigger an audit.  But just to be sure, either print off or download a copy after you have entered a donation for a particular day to a particular organization.  This way, you have support for all the values used. 

Since I have never had an audit triggered for this, I cannot answer A, but I would presume it would pass muster.

[DXS]

One additional thing.  Because values change, when you import into TurboTax, sometimes values will change. The values won't change on "custom" items.  If you want to ensure it doesn't change, you can use the values shown, but enter it as "custom."  If you use the standard values and enter as standard, sometimes it will change when imported into Turbo Tax.  

[datucker]

An audit was triggered because of hard cover books. Be very careful of It's Deductible amounts.  I still use it but for some items I use custom because their amounts are too high.  Again an audit of all donations was triggered because of books! Luckily that's all they had a problem with.

[fastrunk]

Not to be too nosy, but was it a lot of hardcover books? If it was triggered for just a few, I'll be worried.

[Critter]

Yes.

[benjibo]

I live in Arizona, and have used itsdeductible for several years.  The values are always changed a bit when the info is imported into my TurboTax file.  It's frustrating.

[doktorjohn]

I have been using this program since before it was obtained by Turbo Tax.  It is a great little program and I appreciate having the free program to record my donations and consolidate them in one place.  Remember you can always create a custom entry by adding it instead of using the value listed in the program.  Thanks Turbo Tax.

[donnagrei]

I've been using It's Deductible with Turbo Tax for about 10 years and I have not been audited for my taxes or or anything I've donated or valued through It's Deductible. It's Deductible seems to use fair valuations for items, and I don't experience them as being too high. If anything, it's the opposite as I often donate designer clothing and footwear, and you can't really adjust for those other than the High or Low valuations it gives you unless you create a "Custom" amount (which I don't unless the item isn't on the list). 

[tygrtchr]

They always have for me.  Since the values ID uses are based on eBay prices, they are pretty accurate.  I have used ID for years (with thousands of dollars of donations each year) and have never been audited.  I have put in hundreds of "add it" items for things not listed in ID, but I use eBay values for identical items in similar condition.  Just make sure you have a receipt from the charity.  I always print out my ID donation page and staple it to the receipt.

I hope this eases your mind a bit.

[BrainyBoro]

I have never used ItsDeductible before - just to be safe I am using photo backup and online cost amounts for new items where I don't have a receipt. I also will have everything in an Excel file backup.

[ErnieS0]

@BrainyBoro Excellent suggestion! Some tax advisors suggest taking pictures of donated items. Records of online cost items are also helpful. The sales prices of properties similar to the donated property are often important in determining the fair market value of the donation.

It’s important to remember IRS audits are done by people. There are audit technique guides, but decisions can be subjective. If you disagree with an IRS examiner you can request to speak with their manager.

[CHW47]

The hard cover books amount might seem high if you compare to the prices at Goodwill or at a library fundraiser sale.  But if you look at prices for similar items at most used book dealers, probably pretty much in line.  Perhaps an audit protection strategy would be to go to your local used book store, and take photos of the prices marked.

[yfj6k0]

Yes because TurboTax already cleared this with IRS for what is deductible and what's not and the price.

[biobrat1]

We’ve NEVER had a problem. Have been using this program for years and have never been audited. That being said, we take pictures of everything we donate…(establishing item amounts & condition). When I had a great deal of items from clearing out  household items/decor; I also turned to e-bay for valuation of the same or very similar donation items (this helped me to feel I wasn’t overestimating any donation values.) Finally,  we are scrupulously accurate in all are tax matters-even to the point of filing thru a CPA, although are taxes aren’t really that complicated to warrant the extra professional level. -Maybe that helps? Who knows? We just do our best and if we happen to get audited, well, at least we can show we tried and there weren’t any shenanigans involved. Good Luck!