I'm surprised by the confusion, too.  Read the IRS publications, it's that simple.

See IRS Publication 561, p. 9, for threshold requirements for including a qualified appraisal with the form 8283.  For property, the threshold is $500,000.  For "art," it is $20,000.


Robert Vosburgh, Jr., Esq.
Planned Giving & Major Gifts
The Walters Art Museum



-----Original Message-----
From: Sara Conklin <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Mon, 16 Jul 2007 11:57 am
Subject: Determining Value of Artifact Donation for IRS purposes

With my appraiser hat on.....wow, I am amazed at the confusion of information about appraisals. 
1. When a person donates photographs, self generated archives or anything they made themselves they are restricted to cost of materials (photo paper, processing, canvas, paint etc.) 
2. If the donor wants to claim up to $5K they do not need a "qualified" appraiser to conduct "qualified appraisal." Apparently the donor is on their own and then later the IRS can get them for underpayment of taxes because they aren't an appraiser and came up with the wrong value. This has never made sense to me. I tell donors how appraisals are conducted so they can do their own market research and have some ammo if the IRS causes them trouble. 
3. A "verbal appraisal" is not an appraisal. An appraisal is a researched and written document. You can take an appraiser to court for anything that comes out of their mouth. If an appraiser gives you an "unconsidered opinion of value" and you rely on it for a financial decision -- you can sue them. That's why I do not do "roadshow" format appraisal fairs. 
4. I am confused where the person got the "You are allowed to go up to =245000.00 with out getting an appraisal." What is this about? The only IRS value ceiling of any big amount of money comes into play when you are valuing an estate for tax purposes. I think the limit is a couple of million -- it has changed every year now for a while and I don't keep track of the number since lawyers find me to do estate valuations and they get the big bucks for knowing this info. 
 
5. With my Registrar hat on........................you never tell a donor a value for anything. 
 
Sara Conklin, ISA CAPP 
International Society of Appraisers, Certified Appraiser, Personal Property PH: 800-464-4208  
========================================================= 
Important Subscriber Information: 
 
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). 
 
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). 
AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com.
========================================================= Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).