Appraisal and donating a collection

[Keys]

Museum's can NOT give pricing information to the donor, it's an IRS rule.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com>
To: <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2005 3:48 PM
Subject: Re: Appraisal and donating a collection


> On 11/22/2005 at 11:54 AM Tony Eros wrote:
>
>>>From what I'm reading though, it looks like I will need to get the
>>collection appraised in order to properly take advantage of the tax
>>benefits.
>>
>>Has anyone on the list had experience in this area?  How do I go about
>>getting my collection valued?
>
> It depends a lot on the size and valuation of your collection and its
> relationship to your overall tax bill.  IOW, I've done perfectly 
> legitimate
> cash donations to 501(c)3's  and got audited anyway.
>
> If the valuation is modest, simply get a receipt from the organization 
> that
> calls out the amounts as they see them.    Quite honestly, old computer
> gear is one of those things that it's impossible to place an objective
> value on.  The best thing is for the recipient of your largesse to value 
> it
> at what they figure it would cost to otherwise acquire.
>
> Also, remember that the tax deduction for donations can be amortized over 
> 5
> years, so don't be in a big hurry to take the writeoff in one year.  You
> want to avoid annoying those darned IRS computers.
>
> Cheers,
> Chuck
>
>
>