For whomever was asking about deaccessioning & IRS regulations, my
Sept/Oct Museum News arrived yesterday, and lo - there is an entire
article on the subject and it sounds complex. According to the author
(if I'm reading right), (yes, a direct quote, page 53)

"a museum that completes Form 8283 and then disposes of the object
within two years of the date of the gift also must file with the IRS a
completed Form 8282 (a form used to report donated property that has
been sold, exchanged, or otherwise dispsosed of) and send a copy to the
donor. If the appraised value of the donated object does not exceed $500
at the time of donation or if the museum uses, consumes, or distributes
the donated property in a way that is consistent with its tax-exempt
purpose (for example, transferring a painting to another institution),
then it is exempt from the IRS Form 8282 reporting requirement."

but a question *I* have did not get answered. If an object has been
donated, and no appraisal is given (no formal written appraisal obtained
by the donor) can the museum reveal to the donor the amount that they
have assigned to the object? For instance, we received a graphaphone and
the donor wanted a letter for his tax purposes saying that he'd donated
the object and a value for it. Are we allowed to say "the museum has
assigned a value of $400 for its internal purposes to this object" - or
more importantly, how is this worded for everyone else out there? Thanks
so much!

Jill Dixon
SMC Museum
Director

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