Charitable contributions made to qualified organizations may help lower your tax bill. Following are eight tips to help ensure your contributions pay off on your tax return.

1. If your goal is a legitimate tax deduction, then you must be giving to a qualified organization. Also, you cannot deduct contributions made to specific individuals, political organizations and candidates. See IRS Publication 526, Charitable Contributions, for rules on what constitutes a qualified organization. Also, to determine if an organization is a qualified charity, refer to the following link: Search for Charities or download Publication 78, Cumulative List of Organizations.
2. To deduct a charitable contribution, you must file Form 1040 and itemize deductions on Schedule A.
3. If you receive a benefit because of your contribution—such as merchandise, tickets to a ball game or other goods and services—then you can deduct only the amount that exceeds the fair market value of the benefit received.
4. Donations of stock or other non-cash property usually are valued at the fair market value of the property. Clothing and household items generally must be in good used condition or better to be deductible. Special rules apply to vehicle donations.
5. Fair market value generally is the price at which property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither having to buy or sell, and both having reasonable knowledge of all the relevant facts.
6. Regardless of the amount, to deduct a contribution of cash, check, or other monetary gift, you must maintain a bank record, payroll deduction records or a written communication from the organization containing the name of the organization, the date of the contribution and amount of the contribution. For text message donations, a telephone bill will meet the record keeping requirement if it shows the name of the receiving organization, the date of the contribution, and the amount given.
7. To claim a deduction for contributions of cash or property equaling $250 or more, you must have a bank record, payroll deduction records or a written acknowledgment from the qualified organization showing the amount of the cash and a description of any property contributed, and whether the organization provided any goods or services in exchange for the gift. One document may satisfy both the written communication requirement for monetary gifts and the written acknowledgement requirement for all contributions of $250 or more. If your total deduction for all non-cash contributions for the year is over $500, you must complete and attach IRS Form 8283, Non-cash Charitable Contributions, to your return. Refer also to the Instructions for Form 8283, Non-cash Charitable Contributions.
8. Taxpayers donating an item or a group of similar items valued at more than $5,000 also must complete Section B of Form 8283, which generally requires an appraisal by a qualified appraiser.

For more information on charitable contributions, consult your professional tax advisor or tax preparer, or refer to IRS Form 8283 and its instructions, as well as IRS Publication 526, Charitable Contributions. For information on determining the value of donated property, refer also to IRS Publication 561, Determining the Value of Donated Property. These forms and publications all are available at www.IRS.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).  The IRS also has prepared a brief YouTube video on this topic at the following link: Fair Market Value of Charitable Donations. Please feel free to forward this article to others that might benefit from this information.