Deductions & credits

Part I, Information on Donated Property
You must get a written appraisal from a qualified appraiser before completing Part I. 


 If your total deduction for art is $20,000 or more, you must attach a complete copy of the signed appraisal to your return. For individual objects valued at $20,000 or more, a photograph must be provided upon request. The photograph must be of sufficient quality and size (preferably an 8 x 10 inch color photograph) or a high-resolution digital image to fully show the object.

Appraisal Requirements
The appraisal must be signed and dated by a qualified appraiser (defined later) in accordance with generally accepted appraisal standards. It also must meet the relevant requirements of Regulations section 1.170A-17(a).
The appraisal must be signed and dated by a qualified appraiser not earlier than 60 days before the date you contribute the property. You must receive the appraisal before the due date (including extensions) of the return on which you first claim a deduction for the property. For a deduction first claimed on an amended return, the appraisal must be received before the date the amended return was filed. See Regulations section 1.170A-17(a)(4), (a)(8).
A separate qualified appraisal and a separate Form 8283 are required for each item of property except for an item that is part of a group of similar items. Only one appraisal is required for a group of similar items contributed in the same tax year, if it includes all the required information for each item. The appraiser may group similar items with a collective value appraised at $100 or less.
If you gave similar items to more than one donee for which you claimed a total deduction of more than $5,000, you must attach a separate form for each donee.

Part III, Declaration of Appraiser
If you had to get an appraisal, you must get it from a qualified appraiser. A qualified appraiser is an individual who meets all the following requirements as of the date the individual completes and signs the appraisal.
1.
The individual either:
a.
Has earned a recognized appraiser designation from a generally recognized professional appraiser organization for demonstrated competency in valuing the type of property being appraised, or
b.
Has met certain minimum education requirements and has two or more years of experience in valuing the type of property being appraised. To meet the minimum education requirements the individual must have successfully completed professional or college-level coursework in valuing the type of property obtained from:
i.
a professional or college-level educational organization,
ii.
a generally recognized professional trade or appraiser organization that regularly offers educational programs, or
iii.
an employer as part of an employee apprenticeship or education program similar to professional or college-level courses.
2.
The individual regularly prepares appraisals for which he or she is paid.
3.
The appraiser makes a declaration in the appraisal that, because of his or her experience and education, he or she is qualified to make appraisals of the type of property being valued.

In addition, the appraiser must complete Part III of Form 8283. See section 170(f)(11)(E) and Regulations section 1.170A-16(d)(4) for details.
If you use appraisals by more than one appraiser, or if two or more appraisers contribute to a single appraisal, all the appraisers must sign the appraisal and Part III of Form 8283.
Persons who cannot be qualified appraisers are listed in Part III of Section B- the Declaration of Appraiser. Generally, a party to the transaction in which you acquired the property being appraised will not qualify to sign the declaration. But a person who sold, exchanged, or gave the property to you may sign the declaration if the property was donated within 2 months of the date you acquired it and the property's appraised value did not exceed its acquisition price.
An appraiser may not be considered qualified if you had knowledge of facts that would cause a reasonable person to expect the appraiser to falsely overstate the value of the property. An example of this is an agreement between you and the appraiser about the property value when you know that the appraised amount exceeds the actual FMV.
Appraisal fees cannot be based on a percentage of the appraised value. See Regulations section 1.170A-17(a)(9).
Identifying number. The appraiser's taxpayer identification number (social security number or employer identification number) must be entered in Part III.
Part IV, Donee Acknowledgment
The donee organization that received the property described in Part I of Section B must complete Part IV. Before submitting page 2 of Form 8283 to the donee for acknowledgment, complete at least your name, identifying number, and description of the donated property (line 5, column (a)). If real property or tangible personal property is donated, also describe its physical condition (line 5, column (b)) at the time of the gift. Complete Part II, if applicable, before submitting the form to the donee. See the instructions for Part II.
The person acknowledging the gift must be an official authorized to sign the tax returns of the organization, or a person specifically designated to sign Form 8283. When you ask the donee to fill out Part IV, you should also ask the donee to provide you with a contemporaneous written acknowledgment required by section 170(f)(8).
After completing Part IV, the organization must return Form 8283 to you, the donor. You must give a copy of Section B of this form to the donee organization. You may then complete any remaining information required in Part I. Also, the qualified appraiser can complete Part III at this time.
In some cases, it may be impossible to get the donee's signature on Form 8283. The deduction will not be disallowed for that reason if you attach a detailed explanation of why it was impossible.