You can get a tax-deductible receipt for donated clothes at any 501(c)(3) nonprofit that accepts them, which includes Goodwill, the Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity ReStores, and many local charities and religious organizations. To donate clothes and get a tax receipt that actually reduces your taxes, three things have to line up: the organization has to be a qualified charity, the clothes have to be in good used condition or better, and you have to itemize deductions on your federal return.
Where the Receipt Counts
Federal law limits deductible donations to organizations described in Section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code, which covers groups organized for religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes that don’t distribute profits to insiders.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 170 – Charitable, Etc., Contributions and Gifts Most people know these as 501(c)(3) organizations. Large national chains like Goodwill, the Salvation Army, and Habitat for Humanity ReStores carry this status, and so do plenty of smaller local thrift stores, shelters, and church-run clothing closets.
Not every place that accepts used clothing qualifies, though. Some for-profit textile recyclers and unaffiliated collection bins look charitable but aren’t. Before you drop anything off, check the organization’s status using the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool at apps.irs.gov.2Internal Revenue Service. Tax Exempt Organization Search Organizations can lose their tax-exempt status, and a donation made after that happens can’t be deducted. A screenshot or printout of the search result is worth keeping in case your return is ever reviewed.
What a Usable Receipt Has to Show
For any clothing donation, the receipt needs to show the organization’s name and address, the date and location of the donation, and a description of what you gave.3Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526, Charitable Contributions Most charities hand you a blank or partially filled receipt at the drop-off and expect you to write in the rest. Fill it out on the spot, while you still remember what was in the bags. For clothing, your written records also have to describe the condition of each item.
Unattended drop-off bins are common with Goodwill, the Salvation Army, and church parking lots. If no one is there to give you a receipt, you can still claim the deduction, but only if you keep reliable written records covering the same information: the organization’s name, the date, and a description and condition of every item.3Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526, Charitable Contributions Photos of the items before you bag them help.
The Clothes Have to Be in Good Used Condition
Federal law sets a minimum quality bar: clothing must be in “good used condition or better” for any deduction to be allowed.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 170 – Charitable, Etc., Contributions and Gifts Items with significant stains, tears, missing buttons, or heavy wear are worth zero for tax purposes, no matter what the receipt says. A simple test: if it wouldn’t sell at a thrift store, don’t claim it.
The same rule applies to household items donated alongside clothes. The IRS defines household items to include furniture, electronics, appliances, and linens. Paintings, antiques, jewelry, and collections follow different rules.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 170 – Charitable, Etc., Contributions and Gifts
Putting a Value on What You Donated
Charities don’t tell you what your clothes are worth, and their receipts almost never fill in a dollar amount. You have to figure that out yourself using fair market value, which is the price a willing buyer would pay a willing seller. IRS Publication 561 walks through the framework.5Internal Revenue Service. Publication 561, Determining the Value of Donated Property
The most practical starting point is the valuation guides published by the big charities themselves. The Salvation Army lists a used men’s suit at $15 to $60. Goodwill’s guide puts women’s jeans at $4 to $21 and winter coats at $7 to $40. These ranges reflect brand and condition, so a lightly worn name-brand coat sits at the high end and a generic shirt with pilling belongs at the low end. The IRS doesn’t require any particular guide, but your numbers have to be defensible.
Make an itemized list at the time of donation. For each piece, write down the type of garment, its brand, its condition, and the value you’re assigning. Recording the original purchase price isn’t required, but it’s useful context if a value ever gets questioned.
Paperwork Rules by Donation Size
What the IRS demands scales with the value of what you gave. Miss the requirement at any tier and the deduction disappears.
Under $250
The receipt described above (organization, date, location, description, condition) is enough. Written records you keep yourself cover a bin drop-off where no receipt was available.3Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526, Charitable Contributions
$250 or More in a Single Donation
A blank receipt isn’t enough at this level. You need a written acknowledgment from the charity that includes the organization’s name, a description of the items, and a statement about whether the charity gave you anything in return.6Internal Revenue Service. Charitable Contributions – Written Acknowledgments If it did, the acknowledgment must estimate the value of whatever you received, and you subtract that amount from your deduction.
Timing matters. You must have the acknowledgment in hand by the earlier of the date you file your return or the return’s due date, including extensions.7Internal Revenue Service. Charitable Organizations – Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements Request it from the charity before you start your return, not after.
Over $500 in Total Non-Cash Gifts
When your combined non-cash charitable contributions for the year exceed $500, you must file Form 8283 with your tax return.8Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8283 Section A covers items or groups of similar items valued at $5,000 or less and asks for details like when you acquired the items and how you set their value.
Over $5,000 for a Single Item or Group
For any single item or group of similar items claimed at more than $5,000, you need a qualified appraisal and must complete Section B of Form 8283, signed by the appraiser and an authorized representative of the receiving charity.8Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8283 A cleanout of designer or vintage clothing can cross this line faster than people expect. The appraisal fee can’t be a percentage of the appraised value, and the appraiser must sign no earlier than 60 days before the donation.9Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8283
Turning the Receipt Into an Actual Deduction
Clothing donations only reduce your tax bill if you itemize on Schedule A of Form 1040.10Internal Revenue Service. About Schedule A (Form 1040), Itemized Deductions For tax year 2026, the standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married couples filing jointly, and $24,150 for heads of household.11Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026, Including Amendments From the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Itemizing only helps if your total itemized deductions, including mortgage interest, state and local taxes, medical expenses, and charitable gifts, exceed that amount. A few bags of clothes rarely tip that balance on their own, but combined with other deductions they often do.
The 2026 AGI Floor
Starting with tax year 2026, only the portion of your total charitable contributions that exceeds 0.5% of your adjusted gross income is deductible. For someone earning $100,000, the floor is $500. If that person donated $1,200 in clothing and cash gifts combined, only $700 would be deductible. At $80,000 in income with $400 in total donations, none of it would be deductible because $400 falls below the $400 floor. Bunching donations into a single year is one way to clear the floor.
If You Take the Standard Deduction
Beginning in 2026, taxpayers who take the standard deduction can claim an above-the-line deduction of up to $1,000 ($2,000 for joint filers) for charitable contributions. That provision applies only to cash. Clothing and other non-cash gifts do not qualify. If you don’t itemize, your clothing donation won’t produce a tax deduction, though it’s still worth getting the receipt in case your filing situation changes.