Non-cash charitable donations can be a great way to add up deductions at the end of the year, as it serves to clean out your home of old gifts or things you’re not using anymore and lighten your tax burden. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you are done after you have dropped off the donations, as one of the most critical parts is yet to come. Eva Rosenberg shows us the best way to finish our donations on the Equifax Finance Blog article, “

Documenting Your Donations for Tax Deductions.”

First, know the limits. If you donate under $500, you don’t have to itemize. From $500 to $5,000, you need to itemize with details like what was donated, how much was donated, how much it cost you originally and what you expect it to be worth now. To figure out the last one, there are a good number of tools. One is the Salvation Army with “thrift shop values,” TurboTax has ItsDeductible Online and H&R Block offers DeductionPro.

For over $5,000, you have to have all of items appraised. Note that this is $5,000 for the entire year, so if you regularly make donations, you would be required to have each one appraised and totaled in order to collect on the deductions. So if you are going to be offloading a lot of stuff or just a number of expensive items that you would rather donate than sell, putting together a plan for getting it all appraised can save a lot of trouble. Also, if you are clearing an estate or moving, make sure you plan and properly document your donation before you act.