When do you need Form 8283 for a donation?
When your deduction for gifts of goods, stock or other property comes to more than $500 for the year. Section A covers items up to $5,000; above that, an item or group of similar items needs a qualified appraisal and Section B.
The rule
Form 8283 is for gifts that aren’t money, and only if you itemize. When your deduction for all of them together is over $500, you attach it to your return; without it, the IRS can disallow the deduction.
Section A lists gifts worth $5,000 or less per item or group of similar items, with how you got each one, when, what you paid and how you valued it. Publicly traded stock always goes in Section A.
Over $5,000 for an item or a group of similar items, even given to different charities, you need a qualified appraisal and Section B, signed by the appraiser and by the charity.
A car, boat or plane also needs Form 1098-C from the charity.
- What to keep
- The charity’s acknowledgment, your record of what you paid for each item, and the appraisal when one is needed.
- Watch for
- A single item of clothing or household goods that isn’t in good used condition, deducted at over $500, needs a qualified appraisal attached.
- What you pay an appraiser isn’t part of the gift.
Checked on October 2, 2026 against Publication 526, Charitable Contributions, Topic 506, Charitable contributions and Publication 561, Determining the Value of Donated Property. 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.