If you can get another vendor to sign
the
tax form, that is great, but I have not found any vendors willing to do
this.
Here is an appraiser that I found that
does this type of appraisal. I know a couple families that have used
him to
value used power wheelchair that we still valued at over $5000 (the amount
which you need an official appraiser.) If the chair is still in good
condition, he will do the appraisal over the phone with pictures.
Bernard M. Sencer,
ASA,
AAA, President
Sencer Appraisal
Associates, Inc.
92
Reid Ave.
Port
Washington, NY
11050
Tele: (516)
944-9456
Cell: (516)
729-7884
FAX: (516)
767-2112
Email:
xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.AllEquipmentAppraisal.com
Antoinette Verdone, MSBME,
ATP
Assistive Technology
Specialist
The ALS Association, Greater
New York
Chapter
NEW
ADDRESS:
42 Broadway,
Suite
1724
New
York, NY 10004
Fax: 212-619-7409
Email: xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx
www.als-ny.org
"One cannot consent to creep when
one
has the impulse to soar" -- Helen
Keller
From:
xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Wright, Amy
Sent: Saturday, June 13, 2009
1:23
PM
To: 'xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'
Subject: RE: [Assistive
Technology] Who Appraises Donated AAC/AT
Equipment?
Amy,
I’m glad you brought this up as
I,
too, have been struggling to come up with a good way to deal with the
appraisal
issue. What we do now is send out a thank you letter that lists
equipment
donated with the following blurb – “Please keep this letter as
an
acknowledgement of your donation for tax purposes and confirmation that no
goods or services were provided in exchange for your
contribution”.
I have recently started to include info about how to figure fair market
value. See below - still needs tweaking - I am open to any/all
suggestions!
If folks call and ask for help with
3rd
party estimates, we try to help by putting them in touch with another
vendor
who is willing/able to look at the equipment (usually power wheelchairs)
and
sign off as appraiser on IRS form 8283. We’ve also put together
an
appraisal template letter for 3rd party vendors to complete if
requested. If possible, we inform folks of IRS appraisal requirements
before they donate equipment as that is
obviously more appropriate than having the appraisal done once the
equipment is
in our loaner closet.
Here’s a link to IRS publication
“Determine the Value of Donated Property”: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p561.pdf.
It’s a good resource.
How
to Figure Fair Market Value for Equipment
Donations:
The Carolinas Neuromuscular/ALS-MDA Center does not
provide
individual tax advice, and nothing contained in this announcement should be
construed as tax advice. As the recipient of your donation, we are very
appreciative of your generosity however we are unable to estimate the fair
market value of any items donated. The following instructions are
provided as a basic guideline:
1. If you are donating used
equipment
or supplies, claim the price that buyers of such used items actually pay in
stores such as consignment or thrift stores or on websites such as
craigslist
or eBay.
2. Consult a website that lists
values
for similar makes and models if you are donating durable medical equipment
such
as power wheelchairs or communication devices.
3. Keep an itemized receipt for
the
items, regardless of whether they are worth $25 or $250, to protect
yourself in
case you are ever audited. This letter may serve as a receipt.
Keep
in mind that under IRS guidelines, items must be in good used condition or
better to be deductible.
4. Attach Internal Revenue Service Form 8283 to your
return,
giving the name and address of the recipient organization, a description of
the
property contributed, the date the property was acquired, how the property
was
acquired and its fair market value if the gift's value is over $500.
5. Get an independent
(3rd
party) qualified appraisal if the value exceeds $5,000.
If you have any questions, please
feel free to contact our center at (800) 924-7620
Many
Thanks,
Carolinas
Neuromuscular/ALS-MDA Center
Amy Wright
Speech-Language
Pathologist
Carolinas Neuromuscular/ALS-MDA Center
(704)
355-0867
From:
xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Amy Roman
Sent: Friday, June 12, 2009
23:52
To: xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [Assistive
Technology] Who Appraises Donated AAC/AT
Equipment?
Those are great ideas. Thanks.
Sincerely,
Amy Roman, MS, CCC-SLP
Augmentative Communication Specialist
Forbes
Norris ALS
Research Center
2324 Sacramento
Street
San Francisco,
CA 94115
P (415)600-1263
F (415)673-5184
CONFIDENTIAL OR PRIVILEGED: This communication contains information
intended only for the use of the individuals to whom it is addressed
and may contain information that is privileged, confidential or exempt
from
other disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the intended
recipient, you are notified that any disclosure, printing, copying,
distribution or use of the contents is prohibited. If you have
received this in error, please notify the sender immediately by telephone
or
by returning it by reply email and then permanently deleting the
communicationfrom your system.
Thank you.
--- On Fri, 6/12/09, pamela mathy
<xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
From: pamela mathy <xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Assistive Technology] Who Appraises Donated AAC/AT
Equipment?
To: xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Friday, June 12, 2009, 6:11 PM
I don't have an 'official' IRS answer--but
a few ideas to research.
1. The equipment manufacturer is not an employee
of
the donee and could, in fact be considered a very uninterested appraiser.
Certainly, the manufacturer would be in the best position to
determine the "fair market value" of the device, and give
you
an appraisal, right?
2. Another thing that may be worthwhile is to
have
your agency invest in a consultation from a tax atty. These guys are
trained
to interpret the complicated tax law and it would probably be a good idea
to
get their opinion on any donation-tax write off/appraisal plan you
develop.
They are not cheap, but if you find a nice one, he or she may give you
bargain price or do it probono.
3. Another idea is to find a nice appraiser in
your
area who will tell you how "fair market value" is
determined"
and would be willing to review the research that the family puts together
using these instructions and stamp it appraised, for a smaller
fee
than if he had to do all of the research. My hunch is that the way
"fair
market value" is determined is similar to an appraisal on a house,
compare it to comparables. I have heard that people try to sell AAC
devices
on Ebay, so this would be one source of "comps". Another would
be
state Assistive Tech Websites. So the family would prepare the paper
trail
with info on the cost of the same or a similar device and then the
appraiser
would review it, add a quick report, sign it and Viola! Cheap appraisal.
A final comment--it is good you are sharing the
information about the tax laws regarding donations and who can appraise.
I'll
admit I have done them myself in the past using plan number 1 in
ignorance of
the law.
I hope some of these ideas are helpful.
On Fri, Jun 12, 2009 at 7:15 PM, Amy Roman
<xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
On the IRS form for donated equipment is
states
that the appraiser can not be the donee or an employee of the
donee.
That removes me from the short list for appraising the donations that
come
into our lending library since I work for the library.
Who do other lending libraries use to do
appraisals?
Over the years I have learned that the perk of
the
tax donation is what actually motivates many people to donate AAC/AT
equipment (hence the influx of donations accompanied by requests for
donation receipts at tax time).
I know that many centers just tell people that
they are on their own for appraisals but we would really like to make
it
easier for people and in doing so receive more equipment
donations.
Telling people they have to get equipment appraised on their own means
they
won't be able to find anyone and they lose interest in donating.
Thanks for your ideas.
Sincerely,
Amy Roman, MS, CCC-SLP
Augmentative Communication Specialist
Forbes
Norris ALS
Research Center
2324 Sacramento
Street
San Francisco,
CA 94115
P (415)600-1263
F (415)673-5184
CONFIDENTIAL OR PRIVILEGED: This communication contains information
intended only for the use of the individuals to whom it is addressed
and may contain information that is privileged, confidential or exempt
from
other disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the intended
recipient, you are notified that any disclosure, printing, copying,
distribution or use of the contents is prohibited. If you have
received this in error, please notify the sender immediately by
telephone
or by returning it by reply email and then permanently deleting the
communicationfrom your system.
Thank you.
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