This is really dragging out and getting confused, as someone is now talking about donating a niche rather than buying a niche. The simple answers are this:
1. If you "purchase" a columbarium niche for yourself or a loved one's ashes, the price is generally not deductible, since you are getting something of equal value for your money. If you buy the niche from a church or other non-profit, and you pay more than the fair market value (as determined by the church or nonprofit) then the excess portion can be a charity deduction, but only if the church or nonprofit provides a written acknowledgment explaining what portion, if any, was deductible.
2. If you buy a columbarium niche, and decide you don't want to use it, and so you donate it to a church or nonprofit for their use, then:
a) for property held less than 1 year, the value of the deduction is the price you originally paid.
b) for property held more than 1 year, that the charity will use for its intended purpose (to inter someone), the value of the deduction is the present fair market value.
c) for property held more than 1 year, that the charity will use for an unrelated purpose (such as to sell to raise funds), the value of the deduction is the price you paid.
In these cases, the nonprofit is obligated to issue an acknowledgment of the gift, and explain how they will use it, but the nonprofit does not attest a specific value. Instead, you prove the value by your own receipts, or an appraisal, or some other reliable method.
