Casino Merchandise as Charitable Contributions?

Doesn't make sense to me to get a receipt with no value listed on it. Kind of leaves me with no proof to present to the IRS if necessary.

Also not thrilled that the donor is the one to declare the value. But that corresponds to what I have read at the (Illinois) Goodwill website. They say that it against Illinois law for them to appraise items that they receive. That probably applies to other states as well. But what is the purpose of that law? Wouldn't Goodwill be in a position to be more objective? Seems like the donor would have the most to gain by fudging the numbers.

Just a few things here.

Goodwill, nor Salvation Army will want to value donated personal tangible property because of the pressure put on them by the donors and because they don't want to be held liable in a lawsuit if the IRS should somehow disallow the deductions.

If total non cash contributions to ALL charities (not each charity) should be more than $500 you have to fill out Form 8283 (Page 1) and enter the name and address of the charity, a description of the items donated, their costs and their estimated fair market value. The donation amount will be based upon the FMV of what was donated. Ordinarily the FMV will be the amount you might fetch at a thrift shop.

If total noncash donations is less than $500, you can enter them on Schedule A.

That's a separate issue. You might be in violation of the letter of the law for not claiming the prizes as income. I don't know. But that has nothing to do with donating them and taking the deduction. You could have found them in the garbage or been given them as birthday gifts.

Overall, I think you're overthinking this. Do you have tax guy/gal? My tax lady retired last year and I went to a new guy. The new guy is more aggressive in claiming deductions. I don't lose any sleep over it. Worst comes to worst, they will disallow your deductions. Take a picture of the pile of them in your living room as proof you had them. Highly doubt the IRS is going to ask for receipts for your purchases of them. They were birthday gifts.

The value of a used pizza oven or portable DVD player is almost nil. If you don't want a deduction, don't ask for a receipt.

RiverRat,I use my lawnmower as a leaf mulcher! Works great!
Rake leaves? Yeah,with my lawnmower.
25 years living on a street with 100 year old maple and oak trees,you get good at this leaf raking thing.
The leaves are beginning to fall down now. 4-5 months worth. I stay in shape during the winter, too.
For the East Coasters,it's shoveling snow.
My donation pile is growing. A few years back,I donated 25 Nevada casino ashtrays. Some cool ones that I wish that I would have kept.
Like one pit person said at the Nugget in Carson City,"Some people that don't win at the tables,they just take the furniture".
I did that a LOT.
If I asked the cocktail person for one,she said:"I'll get you a clean one". Cool!
Yes,I still smoke.

Imagine a Goodwill volunteer going through a sack of broken appliances and old clothes. Granny's delicate hand done lace hankies (probably stained) were worth something one day, but not now. Like your casino items, they meant something to you at some point. Goodwill gets bags and bags a day of junk, and they don't go through them while you wait. Some sort them, some clean them, some price them, some hang them or place on shelves. If you should ask Goodwill personnel about a value on your casino trinkets, it won't be very much, and it certainly won't exceed the tax deduction limit.

That is the business model of Goodwill, accepting the 'stuff' we don't want, cleaning it up, selling it cheap, using the proceeds for food and shelter and jobs for the less fortunate.

Most people I know claim the maximum for non-cash donations to Goodwill (because we can't figure a value either...nobody knows). If your conscience bothers you to do that, you come up with the amount. But it won't be much. Remember, your pawn shop wouldn't even take them. Goodwill might actually make fifty cents or a dollar off an ash try, cup or something, but not because it came from a certain casino.

As mentioned, you might get a price for some of your casino items on e-Bay or elsewhere. Consider whether the trouble you'd go through to price each item, pack it, mail it or whatever, versus getting a non-cash tax deduction of $500 (or whatever it is) for very little effort.

At McManus's Sunday auction, two trays of casino chips, ashtrays, dice and sketchbooks sold for $300. There were a couple of River is, Stardust, Westward Ho and Aladdin items but most looked pretty modern.