If you have a lot of old CDs in your music collection and you don't want to throw them away or sell them to a used CD store, you can donate the CDs to a local charity. A wide variety of charities accept CD donations, such as day care or elder care facilities and churches. If you make the donation to a tax exempt organization, you can claim the donation on your taxes.
Identify charities in your area by looking on Charity Vault or search for local Goodwill and Salvation Army stores. Typically, the types of places you can donate CDs to include libraries, thrift stores, nursing homes, churches and day care facilities.
Look up the charity you want to donate to on the Internal Revenue Service website to check if it's tax exempt. If the charity is not tax exempt, you cannot claim the donation on your taxes.
Check the fair market value of the CDs on a Internet site such as Second Spin, a buyer and seller of used CDs. You will need an estimate of what the CDs are worth when you claim them on your taxes.
Take the CDs that you want to donate to the charity donation center. If the charity only accepts donations during certain hours, make sure you only drop off the CDs during that period. Get your donation receipt when you drop off the CDs, if you want to claim the donation on your taxes.
References
- Boing Boing: What should I do with my high school CD collection?
- Internal Revenue Service. "2015 Tax Changes Include: Key Benefits Renewed; A New Way to Save for Retirement; New Accounts for People With Disabilities; Health Care Updates." Accessed March 21, 2020.
- Internal Revenue Service. "Publication 590-B: Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)," Page 13. Accessed March 21, 2020.
- Internal Revenue Service. "Publication 526: Charitable Contributions," Page 3. Accessed March 21, 2020.
- Internal Revenue Service. "Publication 5307: Tax Reform Basics for Individuals and Families," Page 4. Accessed March 21, 2020.
- Internal Revenue Service. "IRS Provides Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2020." Accessed March 21, 2020.
- Internal Revenue Service. "Retirement Topics: Required Minimum Distribution." Accessed March 21, 2020.
- Internal Revenue Service. "About Form 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc." Accessed March 21, 2020.
- Internal Revenue Service. "Publication 526: Charitable Contributions," Page 19. Accessed March 21, 2020.
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Jamie Lisse has been writing professionally since 1997. She has published works with a number of online and print publishers. Her areas of expertise include finance and accounting, travel, entertainment, digital media and technology. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English.