As we approach the end of 2019, lots of people look to donate items from their homes, or make monetary donations to non-profit organizations. 

With that in mind, here are some tips to help make the process of claiming those donations on taxes. Henkel and Associates Certified Public Accountant Tom Kennedy reminds those making material donations, like clothing, to always get a receipt. 

“The value you place on donated goods is what we tell people is like garage sale value. There’s lists from organizations that tell you how much stuff is worth. But it’s all based on the quality of things. So you need to keep track of the number of like if you donate jeans, the number of jeans you gave and the condition that they are in.”

Kennedy adds, there are additional guidelines to follow if you monetarily donate over $250 in one year.

“You need a receipt from the organization and it’s got to say, ‘There’s no goods or services given with the money you gave.’”

Kennedy advises to keep itemized documents of any donations you made throughout the year so that you can claim those for the 2019 tax year.