Client donated a house to charity and wants a deduction. Has appraisal. Got house from his dad thru a quit claim, put it in his name. What is the amount of the donation?

[Mike12321]

What is the value for the donation? Does he use the parent's basis plus improvements he made or the appraisal? No gift return ever filed. Can he go back and split up between siblings as gift from parents?

[TaxGuyBill · Accepted solution]

In most cases, you can use the appraised amount (but see "exceptions" in the link below and this assumes the property was not used for business or rental, which would somewhat change things).

From Publication 526:

Capital Gain Property

Property is capital gain property if you would have recognized long-term capital gain had you sold it at fair market value on the date of the contribution. Capital gain property includes capital assets held more than 1 year.

Capital assets.

Capital assets include most items of property you own and use for personal purposes or investment. Examples of capital assets are stocks, bonds, jewelry, coin or stamp collections, and cars or furniture used for personal purposes.

For purposes of figuring your charitable contribution, capital assets also include certain real property and depreciable property used in your trade or business and, generally, held more than 1 year. You may, however, have to treat this property as partly ordinary income property and partly capital gain property. See Property used in a trade or business under Ordinary Income Property, earlier.

Real property.

Real property is land and generally anything built on, growing on, or attached to land.

Depreciable property.

Depreciable property is property used in business or held for the production of income and for which a depreciation deduction is allowed.

For more information about what is a capital asset, see chapter 2 of Pub. 544.

Amount of deduction—General rule.

When figuring your deduction for a contribution of capital gain property, you generally can use the fair market value of the property.

Exceptions.

However, in certain situations, you must reduce the fair market value by any amount that would have been long-term capital gain if you had sold the property for its fair market value. Generally, this means reducing the fair market value to the property's cost or other basis. You must do this if:

1. The property (other than qualified appreciated stock) is contributed to certain private nonoperating foundations,
2. You choose the 50% limit instead of the special 30% limit for capital gain property, discussed later,
3. The contributed property is intellectual property (as defined earlier under Patents and Other Intellectual Property),
4. The contributed property is certain taxidermy property as explained earlier, or
5. The contributed property is tangible personal property (defined earlier) that:
   1. Is put to an unrelated use (defined later) by the charity, or
   2. Has a claimed value of more than $5,000 and is sold, traded, or otherwise disposed of by the qualified organization during the year in which you made the contribution, and the qualified organization hasn't made the required certification of exempt use (such as on Form 8282, Donee Information Return, Part IV). See also Recapture if no exempt use , later.

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p526#en_US_2017_publink1000229761

[Ernie]

An asset is worth the lesser of Fair Market Value or Basis.  You have the Fair Market Value.  What is the Basis of the house?

[Mike12321]

If his basis is the carryover from the parents plus improvements he made then that is less than the appraisal.

[Ernie]

Then I believe you have you answer.

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

:+1: