A reader asks HerMoney CEO Jean Chatzky: "I regularly make purchases at my local thrift store, where the purchases benefit charity. Can I write them off as charitable donations?"
Q: Today’s question comes from Ann. She writes: I regularly make purchases at my local thrift store, where the purchases benefit charity. Can I write those purchases off as charitable donations?
“Since you receive goods of equal value in return for your payment, it is treated as a retail transaction rather than a donation,” he says. “To qualify for a charitable contribution deduction, a taxpayer must make a true gift of money or property to a qualified organization and itemize deductions on their federal return.”
