A Great Way to Save Money on Your Taxes and Help Others at the Same Time?
Posted on November 29, 2007
Filed Under Finance, Gifts, Tax Tips |
I was at an estate sale with my brother-in-law recently and noticed that a lot of useful items were being auctioned off at ridiculously low prices. These items included everyday things like clothes, tools, kitchenwares, appliances, etc. (Basically, the owners were trying to get through these items, quickly so that they could get to the more expensive ones, such as antiques).
How low is low? Entire shelves of tools for under $10, closets of good quality, usable clothing for $5, appliances for $1; the list goes on and on. Some kitchen items didn’t even sell - whole bunches of glassware and crockery that people wouldn’t buy for a dollar.
While watching all of this, the following thought came to my mind: “why not buy these items, and then donate them to charity?”
The value of a closet full of clothes is probably well over $100 (according to Turbo Tax) - that’s at least a $100 deduction on your taxes (assuming you itemize) for what would have been a total cost of $5 in this case. This could be highly beneficial to you if you are in a high tax bracket.
Anybody know if this is legal? I don’t see why it wouldn’t be, plus you wind up helping a bunch of people out… yourself with a tax deduction, the sellers by giving them some money, and the charity of your choice!
Plus, if you want, you can sell some of the items on Ebay!
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Wow - sounds like a great idea!