Your Charity Gift May Need an Appraisal

By: Renee Kroesch

If you donate valuable items to charity, you may be required to get an appraisal. The IRS requires donors and charitable organizations to supply certain information to prove their right to deduct charitable contributions. If you donate an item of property (or a group of similar items) worth more than $5,000, certain appraisal requirements apply. You must:?

• Get a “qualified appraisal,”?
• Receive the qualified appraisal before your tax return is due,?
• Attach an “appraisal summary” to the first tax return on which the deduction is claimed,?
• Include other information with the return, and?
• Maintain certain records.?

Keep these definitions in mind. A qualified appraisal is a complex and detailed document. It must be prepared and signed by a qualified appraiser. An appraisal summary is a summary of a qualified appraisal made on Form 8283 and attached to the donor’s return.?

While courts have allowed taxpayers some latitude in meeting the “qualified appraisal” rules, you should aim for exact compliance.?

Need more detail on what happens if you fail to comply or what exceptions there are, visit our website for the full blog post: https://www.pkftexas.com