I am closing a LuLaRoe business and have approx $9,000 (Wholesale)/$21,000 retail in product I will donate to the Salvation Army. What paperwork is needed?

[Anonymous]

how is your business structured - sole proprietorship or single member LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp, partnership?    does the business expense the purchases of product or does it account for them as inventory.?  

[t_2_load]

It was a single member, inventory was carried and we did not deduct that amount on our taxes.  A previous discussion with a tax specialist I was 99% there, but am unable to get back to them to complete my case number.  Thanks for the response.

[Opus 17]

If a disregarded entity that is reported on schedule C, you and the business are the same; it's money and property are your money and property.  If you did not deduct the cost of inventory as a business expense, then you can deduct the donation as a schedule A itemized deduction (but remembering the requirement for an appraisal and a signed form 8283).

However, it may still be to your advantage to deduct the costs as inventory on schedule C rather than as a charity deduction on schedule A.  If you deduct the full inventory cost on schedule C, you may show a net operating loss for your business; that may be deductible against other income now or in the future.  Your schedule A itemized deduction will be limited by the fact that the standard deduction has doubled ($12,000 single, $24,000 married filing jointly) so your only benefit comes from the amount that your itemized deductions are more than the standard deduction.  

You may want to run the situation past a tax professional (not a storefront seasonal tax preparer.)  

[Opus 17]

Considering this purely as a charity deduction:

First: your maximum deduction value is the fair market value of the good or your cost basis, whichever is lower.  Normally, in the ordinary course of business, you deduct the cost of goods sold as a business expense.  This means the cost of your inventory has already been deducted, and it has no tax value as a further charity deduction.  See "ordinary income property" here.  https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p526.pdf

You can't take two deductions for the value of the same property.

If, for some reason, you never deducted the cost of goods as a business expense, you may be able to deduct your cost or the fair market value (whichever is lower) as a donation to charity.  However, for donations of property (items, anything not money) over $5000 for any single item or group of similar items, you must have a signed appraisal, and the appraiser and a financially responsible person at the charity must sign a copy of form 8283 describing the donation. You can e-file the form 8283 along with your tax return but must then mail the original signed paper to the IRS within 5 days.

This would be unusual, and I suspect you have no donation value.  If this was a multi-person LLC or partnership or S-corp, you can't just take all the inventory for yourself without additional consequences and responsibilities to the other shareholders or partners.