Are clothing and household donations tax deductible?
If you itemize, at what they would sell for used, and only in good used condition or better. Goods don’t count toward the $1,000 deduction without itemizing.
The rule
Clothes, furniture, electronics, appliances and linens are deductible at their fair market value: the price buyers actually pay for things like them in thrift and consignment shops, which is usually far less than you paid. A coat bought for $300 that thrift shops sell for $50 is a $50 gift.
Formulas, such as a share of what a new one costs, aren’t accepted. Support the value with photos, the original receipts or prices of similar items.
Nothing in worse than good used condition counts, unless a single item is worth more than $500 and you have it appraised.
The deduction without itemizing, new in 2026, covers cash only, so for most people a bag of clothes puts nothing back.
Without itemizing, goods count for nothing. If you itemize, they count at their used value, above the 0.5% floor.
- Without itemizing
- No
- If you itemize
- What they would sell for used
- What to keep
- A receipt from the charity with its name, the date and place and a description. At an unattended drop box, your own written list of each item, its condition, its value and how you worked it out. The written acknowledgment for $250 or more.
- Watch for
- Similar items given over the year add up. When your deduction for goods comes to more than $500, you file Form 8283; over $5,000 for a group of similar items, you need an appraisal.
- Food, art, antiques, jewelry and collections have their own rules.
Checked on October 2, 2026 against Publication 526, Charitable Contributions, Publication 561, Determining the Value of Donated Property and Topic 506, Charitable contributions. An estimate for your records, not tax advice.
Federal tax only. States set their own rules for gifts.
Keep every gift with its receipt.
From 2026, up to $1,000 of cash gifts counts even without itemizing. Reimburse keeps each gift with the charity’s receipt, asks for the paper the IRS wants, and shows what it puts back.