Turbo Tax this year seems not to include a tool to evaluate the value of clothing and household items. What is the best way to handle that?

[Vanessa A]

The value is based on what a wiling buyer would pay a willing seller for the item. The best way to determine the value of donations you made, is to get a receipt when you make the donations.  If you did not get a receipt you can use a valuation chart such as one from the Goodwill or Salvation Army.  If you use these guides, be sure to print out the guide you used so you have a record of how you came up with your number.  It is also a good idea to take a picture of your donations and keep it with your tax return for your record and proof. 

Another method you could use is looking up the prices that people are selling similar items for on places like eBay or Marketplace or other popular resale/yard sale sites.

If the non cash donations were worth more than $500, you DO need a receipt from the charitable organization you donated to.  You would then be able to use this for the value.

If the donations were worth more than $5,000 you need an appraisal for the value of the item.  The appraisal is then what you would use for the value. 

Your charitable donations are only deductible as itemized expenses.  Itemized expenses include mortgage interest, gambling losses up to 90% or winnings whichever is less,  charitable contributions, state and local taxes up to $10,000, medical expenses in excess of 7.5% of your AGI and casualty and losses in excess of 10% of you AGI with the first $100 not counting towards the loss.  Your health insurance and all medical expenses are only deductible for the amount that is over 7.5% of your AGI.  This means if your AGI is $50,000, then the amount that is over $3,750 is deductible.  

Then your total itemized expenses would need to be greater than your standard deduction below in order to benefit from your expenses. 

The 2024 Standard Deductions are as follows:

• Married Filing Joint (MFJ)              $31,500
• Married Filing Separate (MFS)      $15,750
• Head of Household (HOH)             $23,675 
• Single                                                 $15,750                                

Blind or over 65 and MFJ or MFS add $1,600

Single or HOH if blind or over 65 add $2.000

[annieland]

We know ItsDeductible is kaput and I've prepared for that. However, my desktop TurboTax 2025 has a note saying:

"COMING SOON: We’re working on a new tool to help you look up the fair market value of your item. We expect it to be ready soon, but you can file without it."

Do you or any of the other Experts here have any general knowledge if this is actually something that may come out this year? 

[CatinaT1]

There will be a new tool that will help calculate the Fair Market Value (FMV) of the donated items. However, no information on when it is going to be available yet.

[WVUMD]

I have the same question that annieland posted 2 days ago.

The software definitely states:  "COMING SOON!  We're working on a new tool to help you look up the fair market value of your item.  We expect it to be ready soon...."

Please endeavor to offer more specifics.  I have to believe that someone in the Intuit world has knowledge about this tool and when it will be available, specifically, whether it will be available in time to use this filing season.  

I respectfully and humbly request that Turbo Tax staff be more specific in your reply as to the status of this tool, and whether we can expect to see it in time to use by this year's filing deadline.  

This type of tool has been available in recent years' iterations  of Turbo Tax.  It was VERY helpful.  And it baffles me as to why Turbo Tax would remove it.  I appeal for you to bring it back!  

Thanks for listening!

[annieland]

There's tons of threads about ItsDeductible being discontinued and there's no way it's coming back, and least not in its previous iteration. Lots of developers have already come out with spreadsheet and software alternatives if you google. But I am indeed curious what Intuit is planning since they dropped that "Coming Soon" nugget in the software.

My personal opinion, as a user of TT's desktop software for going on three decades, is not to count on it for this tax season. I still have some pretty common education tax forms throwing errors for not being updated yet for OBBBA changes. Since I have several more brokerage forms to wait for and probably won't be filing until March, if there's no impressive built-in ItsDeductible alternative by then I'm just using what I've already prepared as back-up in a spreadsheet. So I suggest you have a backup method of itemizing your donations.

[MarilynG1]

There will be a new tool that will help calculate the Fair Market Value (FMV) of the donated items. But since we don't have specific dates for that, here are a couple of tools from Salvation Army and Goodwill that may help now.

@WVUMD 

[JFMcCune]

TurboTax 2025 states, "COMING SOON: We’re working on a new tool to help you look up the fair market value of your item."

How much longer do we need to wait?

[MonikaK1]

TurboTax 2025 has discontinued its former ItsDeductible tool. It is not being replaced.

A new, forthcoming feature is being designed to help users determine the fair market value of donated items. The new feature may be released by sometime in March. Users can file in the meantime.

There are a number of alternative commercial products available online. Some charities offer their own.

For examples see the links below for a guide to assist.

• Salvation Army Donation Value Guide
• Valuation Guide for Goodwill Donors

@JFMcCune