In layman's language (which is all I know in any case): there's an
absolute ban on a donor using an appraisal from a museum to substantiate
for tax purposes a gift to that museum worth in excess of $5,000.  So
even if the museum said informally that a prospective gift was likely to
be worth thus-and-such, the statement would be irrelevant when the donor
files his taxes.  For gifts worth in excess of $5,000, the donor must
use an outside, qualified appraiser.

For gifts worth less than $5,000, there is not a bar on having the
museum make the appraisal.  However, the donor must still tell the IRS
how he or she arrived at the claimed value.  If they say that they got
the value from the museum, the IRS may feel that the museum, as an
interested party, may be as likely as not to inflate the value.  In
other words, rather than thinking that the museum has special expertise,
they may think that it has a conflict of interest.  Or, in still more
words (and a cliche to boot), a donee-provided valuation "raises a red
flag."  So our advice is always that, while not technically illegal,
it's still probably not in the donor's best interest to have the museum
value the gift.  And certainly there are people who feel that the ethics
are questionable in any case, and some museums have policies forbidding
the practice.

Andy Finch
AAM Government Affairs
[log in to unmask]