7 Jul
2011
7 Jul
'11
11:28 p.m.
On 07/07/2011 09:45 PM, David Griffith wrote:
While preparing the paperwork for some donations to the Computer
History Museum, I started wondering about appraising the artifacts
donated for tax write-off purposes. Who would qualify as an appraiser
of classic computer items? I think I'm a pretty good candidate given
the time I've spent selling the stuff on Ebay. Is this something I
should run by a lawyer?
David,
The 501(c)(3), in this case the CHM, should give you paper work that
describes the donation and the value of the donation. A few years back
the IRS issued rulings that said you could no longer just "claim"
donations. You have to have the paper work from the 501c3 org. I think
it was last year or year before that they started clamping down on the
501c3 groups to try and make sure the value of the donation is
"reasonable". There were some 501c3 where you would donate something
that might be worth $10 and they would say it was worth (your tax
rate)*$10 so you got closer to a full tax credit instead of a deduction.
I have never donated to the CHM so if the paper work says you have to
decide the value then I would suggest you use something reasonable.
200K for a VT105 would probably get you an interesting letter from the
IRS. If the total value is not that large I would not worry too much
about it. If you think the value is mega bucks, 10's to 100's of K then
best go find a good tax guy. There are more effective ways to get a
better tax write off and protect you from the IRS money grabbers.
--
Joe Chisolm