How to Fill Out an In-Kind Donation Form Template for Nonprofits

An in-kind donation form template is the written acknowledgment a nonprofit uses to document a gift of goods or property, and it is also the document the donor needs to claim a charitable deduction. A workable template captures the charity’s legal name, a description of the property, the date of the gift, a statement about whether anything was given in return, and a signature line for an authorized representative. The donor supplies the value; the charity does not.

What the Form Must Contain

The IRS does not publish an official template. Charities build their own, and any acknowledgment for a noncash contribution of $250 or more has to include a specific set of elements to hold up as a valid written acknowledgment.¹

The full legal name of the charity receiving the donation.
A written description of each item or group of similar items. The charity describes the property but does not assign a dollar value to it.
A statement that the organization provided no goods or services in return, or, if it did, a description and good-faith estimate of their value.
If the only benefit provided in return was an intangible religious benefit, the acknowledgment must say so.

Beyond the required elements, a well-built template also captures the donor’s name and mailing address, the date of the contribution, and a signature line for someone authorized to sign for the charity. Publication 1771 lists the contribution date as a standard element of donor records, and it pins the gift to a specific tax year.²

The donor is responsible for describing the condition of each item (new, gently used, refurbished) and assigning a fair market value. Charities avoid stating a value because doing so could compromise their impartiality and expose them to liability if the number turns out to be wrong.

How to Value the Property

Fair market value is the price a willing buyer would pay a willing seller on the open market, with both sides knowing the relevant facts and neither under pressure to act.³ The IRS points to comparable sales at thrift stores, online marketplaces, or consignment shops; original cost adjusted downward for wear, age, and obsolescence; and replacement cost reduced for depreciation.

Used clothing and household goods are almost always worth far less than the original purchase price. The IRS makes that point explicitly in Publication 561: the value is what buyers actually pay for items of that age, condition, and style.³

For items worth more than $5,000, a donor’s own estimate is not enough. A qualified appraisal from a qualified appraiser is required, and the appraiser must meet specific IRS credentials: relevant coursework plus two years of experience valuing that type of property, or a recognized professional appraisal designation.⁴ The appraiser cannot be the donor, the charity, or anyone closely related to either side.

Documentation Requirements by Dollar Amount

What the IRS expects grows as the claimed value grows. Four tiers, each adding to the last.

Under $250

Keep a written record. A receipt from the charity or contemporaneous notes describing the property, its condition, the date, and the organization’s name will do.⁵

$250 to $500

The charity’s written acknowledgment, with the elements listed above, is required. It must be “contemporaneous,” meaning the donor receives it before the earlier of the date the return is filed or the return’s due date including extensions.¹ Handing the form to the charity at the time of delivery and getting it signed then and there is the reliable way to meet this rule.

$501 to $5,000

Everything from the prior tier, plus Form 8283 (Section A) filed with the tax return. Donors also need records showing how and when they acquired the property and its cost basis. For property held less than 12 months, the cost or other basis must be reported. For property held 12 months or more, reporting basis is recommended but not strictly required.⁵ Section A covers most donations in this range and does not require an independent appraisal.⁶

Over $5,000

The full package: written acknowledgment, Form 8283 (Section B), and a qualified appraisal.⁷ Section B contains a donee acknowledgment the charity must sign and an appraiser declaration the appraiser must sign.⁶ If the claimed value exceeds $500,000, the full appraisal report must be attached to the return.⁴

Categories With Their Own Rules

Vehicles, Boats, and Airplanes

Donated vehicles worth more than $500 do not run through the standard in-kind form alone. The charity must file Form 1098-C with the IRS for each qualifying vehicle (cars, boats, and airplanes all count) and provide a copy to the donor.⁸ If the charity sells the vehicle without significant use or material improvement, the deduction is generally limited to what the charity got for it at auction, regardless of blue book value. Wait for the 1098-C before claiming a number.

Clothing and Household Items

Clothing and household items must be in good used condition or better to qualify for any deduction. Household items include furniture, electronics, appliances, and linens, but not food, paintings, antiques, jewelry, or collections.⁵ A narrow exception lets a donor deduct a single item below the “good used condition” bar if the claimed value exceeds $500 and the donor obtains a qualified appraisal and files Form 8283, Section B.⁶

The Quid Pro Quo Statement

When a donor receives something back (a dinner, a gift basket, event tickets), the deductible amount is only the excess of the contribution over the fair market value of what was received. If total payment exceeds $75, the charity must provide a written disclosure spelling out the limit and giving a good-faith estimate of the value of what the donor got back.⁹ The trigger is total payment, not the deductible piece.

On the in-kind form, this belongs directly in the acknowledgment. If the charity gave nothing in return, the form should say so explicitly. If the charity provided goods or services, the form should describe them and estimate their value. If the only return benefit was an intangible religious benefit, the form should state that.

What the Form Cannot Cover

The value of a volunteer’s time is not deductible, no matter how skilled the work. Neither is the fair market rental value of equipment or space made available to a charity. An in-kind donation form cannot create a deduction for either.

Unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses tied to volunteer work are deductible if the donor itemizes on Schedule A. That covers supplies used while volunteering, required uniforms not suitable for everyday wear, and travel costs for overnight trips involving a full workday of service. For driving, a donor may use the IRS charitable mileage rate (14 cents per mile in 2026) or actual fuel costs, plus parking and tolls under either method.¹⁰ Overhead vehicle costs (depreciation, maintenance, registration, insurance) do not qualify. The $250 acknowledgment rule applies here too: if out-of-pocket spending on a single contribution reaches $250, get the charity’s written acknowledgment before filing.¹¹

Penalties for Overvaluing

Inflating a donation’s value draws IRS scrutiny quickly. Under 26 U.S.C. § 6662, an accuracy-related penalty applies in two tiers. A substantial valuation misstatement (claimed value 150 percent or more of the correct value) carries a 20 percent penalty on the resulting tax underpayment. A gross valuation misstatement (200 percent or more of the correct value) doubles that to 40 percent. Neither penalty applies unless the underpayment attributable to the misstatement exceeds $5,000 ($10,000 for C corporations).¹² The statute provides no disclosure-based escape; the only defense is reasonable cause and good faith, which in practice means relying on a qualified appraisal with no reason to think the value was inflated.

Signing and Keeping the Form

Deliver the completed form to the charity when the property changes hands, or send it through a secure electronic channel if the charity accepts digital submissions. Have an authorized representative review the description and sign the acknowledgment before you leave. Waiting weeks for a signature risks pushing the acknowledgment past the contemporaneous deadline.

Once signed, keep copies in both electronic and paper form. The IRS generally requires records to be kept for at least three years from the date the return claiming the deduction is filed.¹³ If the deduction depends on cost basis for property held more than a year, hold those acquisition records longer, since the IRS may need them to verify the calculation if questions arise later.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Charitable Contributions: Written Acknowledgments
2
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 1771 – Charitable Contributions – Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements
3
Internal Revenue Service. Determining the Value of Donated Property
4
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 506, Charitable Contributions
5
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526, Charitable Contributions
6
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8283 (Rev. December 2025)
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 170 – Charitable, Etc., Contributions and Gifts
8
Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1098-C, Contributions of Motor Vehicles, Boats, and Airplanes
9
Internal Revenue Service. Life Cycle of a Private Foundation – Quid Pro Quo Contributions
10
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Sets 2026 Business Standard Mileage Rate at 72.5 Cents Per Mile, Up 2.5 Cents
11
Internal Revenue Service. Providing Disaster Relief Through Charitable Organizations: Working With Volunteers
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6662 – Imposition of Accuracy-Related Penalty on Underpayments
13
Internal Revenue Service. How Long Should I Keep Records