Donation deduction glossary
The 31 terms that decide what a donated bag of clothing is worth on a tax return, and what paperwork it drags along with it. Every definition cites the IRS publication, form, or guidance page it came from.
Deduction basics
AGI limit (percentage limitation)
A ceiling on charitable deductions expressed as a percentage of adjusted gross income, varying by gift type and recipient.
Read the definition →Automatic revocation
Loss of tax-exempt status for failing to file a required annual return or notice for three consecutive years.
Read the definition →Capital gain property
Donated property that would have produced a long-term capital gain if you had sold it instead of giving it away.
Read the definition →Carryover
Charitable contributions you could not deduct this year because of a percentage limit, carried forward to future years.
Read the definition →Group exemption ruling
A ruling under which a parent organization's exemption covers affiliated subordinates that are not individually listed.
Read the definition →Itemized deduction
A deduction claimed by listing specific expenses on Schedule A instead of taking the standard deduction.
Read the definition →Non-itemizer charitable deduction (2026)
A deduction the IRS states is available beginning in tax year 2026 for up to $1,000, or $2,000 jointly, of cash contributions by taxpayers who do not itemize.
Read the definition →Noncash contribution
A charitable gift of property rather than money: clothing, furniture, electronics, books, a vehicle, or securities.
Read the definition →Ordinary income property
Donated property whose sale would not have produced long-term capital gain. Its deduction is generally reduced below fair market value.
Read the definition →Qualified organization
An organization eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions. Giving to anyone else is generous, not deductible.
Read the definition →Schedule A (Form 1040)
The Form 1040 schedule where itemized deductions, including charitable contributions, are reported.
Read the definition →Standard deduction
The flat amount you can subtract from income without listing individual expenses. Taking it means charitable gifts generally do not reduce your tax.
Read the definition →Tax Exempt Organization Search
The free IRS database for checking whether an organization is eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
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Valuation
Condition tier
The grade assigned to a donated item, which selects a value range. DeductiBee uses Like new, Good, and Fair, and deliberately has no lower tier.
Read the definition →Fair market value (FMV)
The price property would sell for on the open market between a willing buyer and a willing seller, both informed and neither under compulsion.
Read the definition →FMV factors
The four considerations Publication 561 lists for arriving at fair market value: cost or selling price, comparable sales, replacement cost, and expert opinion.
Read the definition →Good used condition or better
The minimum condition standard for deducting donated clothing and household items, with a narrow exception above $500 backed by a qualified appraisal.
Read the definition →Qualified appraisal
A formal written valuation, prepared by a qualified appraiser under professional standards, generally required for deductions over $5,000.
Read the definition →Qualified appraiser
The individual permitted to prepare a qualified appraisal, meeting the education, experience, and independence conditions in the Form 8283 instructions.
Read the definition →Thrift shop value
What buyers of used items actually pay in consignment or thrift shops, which Publication 561 treats as an indication of value for used clothing.
Read the definition →Valuation misstatement penalty
An accuracy penalty that applies when a claimed value substantially or grossly exceeds the correct value of donated property.
Read the definition →
Forms and filing
Donee
The organization receiving the donation. On larger noncash gifts, the donee has paperwork obligations of its own.
Read the definition →Employer identification number (EIN)
A nine-digit federal tax ID. A charity's EIN identifies it uniquely, which is why it is the reliable way to look one up.
Read the definition →Form 8282
Donee Information Return, filed by a charity that disposes of donated property within three years of receiving it.
Read the definition →Form 8283
Noncash Charitable Contributions, the form attached to your return once your deduction for noncash gifts is more than $500.
Read the definition →Form 8283 Section B
The part of Form 8283 for donations over $5,000, requiring a qualified appraisal, an appraiser declaration, and the donee's signed acknowledgement.
Read the definition →Group of similar items
Items of the same general category or type, which are aggregated when testing the $5,000 appraisal threshold.
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Records and receipts
Contemporaneous written acknowledgment (CWA)
The written statement from the charity required for any single contribution of $250 or more, obtained before you file.
Read the definition →Photo evidence
Photographs of donated property, kept with the record. Not required by the IRS, but the cheapest way to show condition years later.
Read the definition →Quid pro quo contribution
A payment that is partly a gift and partly payment for goods or services. Only the excess over what you received is deductible.
Read the definition →Substantiation
The evidence you must hold to support a claimed charitable deduction, escalating in formality as the amount rises.
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The rules these terms come from
Definitions are the index. The guides are the argument.
- GuideForm 8283: the complete guideThe $500 filing line, the $5,000 appraisal line, Section A versus Section B, and the paperwork the charity has to sign.
- GuideDonation receipts and substantiationEvery record the IRS expects, tier by tier, and the deadline that quietly makes a late receipt worthless.
- GuideThe 2026 charitable deduction for non-itemizersWhat the IRS has actually published about the 2026 non-itemizer deduction, including the word that excludes most donated goods.
- GuideDoes this organization qualify?The first test any donation has to pass, how to run it against the IRS database, and why churches and thrift-store affiliates come back blank.
- ValuesDonation value guideThe definitions applied: every category we price, by condition tier, with the source next to each range.
- CalculatorDonation calculatorPut a real donation through the same ranges and see which thresholds it crosses.
Put the vocabulary to work
DeductiBee values what you donated from a sourced dataset, keeps the photo with the record, and exports a Form 8283 worksheet at filing time.
