Deductions of Less Than $250
Except as provided below, no deduction will be allowed for a noncash contribution of less than $250 unless you get and keep a receipt from the qualified organization showing:
1. The name and address of the qualified organization to which you contributed;
2. The date and location of the charitable contribution;
3. A description of the property in sufficient detail under the circumstances (taking into account the value of the property) for a person not generally familiar with the type of property to understand that the description is of the contributed property; and
Deductions of at Least $250 but Not More Than $500
If you claim a deduction of at least $250 but not more than $500 for a noncash charitable contribution, you must get and keep a contemporaneous written acknowledgment of your contribution from the qualified organization.
Deductions Over $500 but Not Over $5,000
If you claim a deduction over $500 but not over $5,000 for a noncash charitable contribution, you must complete Form 8283 and have the Contemporaneous written acknowledgment. Your completed Form 8283 must include:
1. Your name and taxpayer identification number,
2. The name and address of the qualified organization,
3. The date of the charitable contribution, and
4. The following information about the contributed property:
a.A description of the property in sufficient detail under the circumstances (taking into account the value of the property) for a person not generally familiar with the type of property to understand that the description is of the contributed property;
b. The fair market value of the property on the contribution date and the method used in figuring the fair market value;
c. In the case of real or tangible property, its condition;
d. In the case of tangible personal property, whether the donee has certified it for a use related to the purpose or function constituting the donee’s basis for exemption under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code or, in the case of a governmental unit, an exclusively public purpose;
e. not relevant
f. How you got the property, for example, by purchase, gift, bequest, inheritance, or exchange;
g. The approximate date you got the property or, if created, produced, or manufactured by or for you, the approximate date the property was substantially completed; and
h. The cost or other basis, and any adjustments to the basis, of property, held less than 12 months and, if available, the cost or other basis of property held 12 months or more.
Deductions Over $5000 you needed a signed certified appraisal
Contemporaneous written acknowledgment.
The acknowledgment must meet these tests.
1. It must be written.
2. It must include:
a. not relevant
b. Whether the qualified organization gave you any goods or services as a result of your contribution (other than certain token items and membership benefits),
c. A description and good faith estimate of the value of any goods or services described in (b). If the only benefit you received was an intangible religious benefit (such as admission to a religious ceremony) that generally isn’t sold in a commercial transaction outside the donative context, the acknowledgment must say so and doesn’t need to describe or estimate the value of the benefit.
the limit is the fair market value of the items but the tests you must meet depend on what the FMV is
