I liked the wording proposed for Wade's institution, and whether it's on the deed of gift, on the back of it, or provided the donor in some other way, it helps to the donor with information that they might need and is a subliminal indication of the museum's professional collection management. The main problem with having it on the deed of gift is that it can change and might require to be changed before you've use the supply you had printed. (With computer generated forms it would be easy to change at any time.) Plus, it takes up a lot of space on the form. Another issue, requested by one of our donor's tax consultants last year, was to add wording to the letter "[the gift]...for which no compensation was received...." As for Toni's question, about donations received just before Jan 1, it is simple to date the thank you letter with the current date, but in the letter have a paragraph that includes date received. Such as "..thanks for the donation of ___ which was received by us on Dec. 30, 2008..... " It's all about giving the donor what they need for IRS purposes [without giving tax advice that we aren't qualified to give], and cultivating good will for the museum. Lucy Sperlin Butte County Historical Society Oroville, CA -----Original Message----- From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Toni Kiser Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 10:30 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Deed of gift question I have a similar question. Does any one stipulate the year in which the gift was given? For instance, items that were given on December 30, 2008 but paperwork isn't completed until January ? 2009. Letters and such would have 09 dates but the gift would be an 08 for tax purposes. Right now we have nothing about tax deductions on our deed of gift. Toni Kiser -----Original Message----- From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Wade Lawrence Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 12:01 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Deed of gift question Hello all, We are revising our Deed of Gift, and our legal council wants to include some language that I would like to hear from the group about, as follows: "Deductions for Charitable Contribution: Under current applicable law, although it may change from time to time, if Donor elects to claim a deduction for a charitable contribution of the gift, and the total claimed value of which exceeds $500, Donor must file with its tax returns IRS Form 8283. And if the value of the donation is claimed to be in excess of $5,000, and Donor elects to claim a charitable donation, then Donor must obtain a qualified written appraisal of the gift from a qualified appraiser and attach IRS Form 8283 (signed by The Museum) to your tax return. Again, since applicable law may change, questions should be addressed to the IRS or your tax advisor." This language is more specific than I have seen in other deeds of gift. Any opinions out there? Wade Lawrence ========================================================= 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). ========================================================= 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). ========================================================= 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).