Image by Gerard Stolk après la Pentecôte via Flickr
A lot of people think the best thing you can do with lightly used clothing that no longer fits is to either throw it away or sell it at a garage sale. While you can do whatever you want with your property, a lot of times these aren’t the best ideas available to you. For one thing, you can actually donate your slightly imperfect clothes to a charity and get a tax deduction while someone else gets to enjoy them.
Having a slick pair of Dereon pants is great. But it can get annoying if you bought the wrong size, or if you experience a major change in your weight. When you aren’t the right size for your clothes, it can be a problem for you. Also, while having a successful garage or yard sale is a fairly easy way to make some quick cash, it might not be the most effective use of your cash if you’re making money and paying taxes.
Consider what could happen at a garage sale. You sell your nice clothes for a few bucks to someone who walks away feeling high on their great deal. But when it comes time to pay your taxes, your refund won’t be as large as it would have been if you’d donated your clothes to a charity. You can often deduct 50 percent or more of your clothes’ original value from your taxes, which can be a boon if you donate a lot of clothes in a year. Just make sure you get receipts and donate to a reputable charity that will use your clothes for good.