Common Stock Charitable Donation

[JCS52]

We donated common stock to a charity. On Form 8283 why does TurboTax say our valuation method is "Comparative Sales" instead of "Average Sales Price"?

[KathrynG3]

Yes, you are correct that the average sales price is used to determine the valuation of stock, however, the Instructions on Form 8283 specifically list "Comparable Sales" for the method used to determine FMV for real estate and other kinds of assets.

See 2019 Form 8283 Instructions page 5 column 1.

2019 IRS Publication 561 Determining the Value of Donated Property beginning on page 5

[JCS52]

Got it.  Thanks very much.  In the past I've simply typed in "Treas Reg 20.2031.2" as the method, but I guess I'll go with TurboTax's suggestion this year.