Donating a Piano to Building Bridges
The
U.S. Government and individual states have given those who file tax
returns certain benefits for supporting authorized public benefit
organizations. When you donate a piano to Building Bridges, you may be able to receive an actual deduction in your
income taxes equal to the full fair market value of the piano. (See IRS
letter) If you think that you would
like to donate a piano, here are some suggestions as to how to go about
doing it.
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1. Establish a Fair Market Value
First of all, it is primarily up to you, not to the non-profit organization, to determine the value of the piano you are donating. Basically, you need to know what you could sell a piano for to a private party buyer. If the piano is worth less than $500, then usually you don't need to hire an appraiser to value it for you. (See IRS instructions for specifics). Where do you get the piano appraised?
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A piano technician
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A piano salesperson (who is not involved in buying and reselling the piano for the non-profit who is accepting the donation).
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A personal property appraiser with a specialty in pianos.
2. Determine if a tax-deduction has value to you.
If you
have donated items in the past, you will usually have a ballpark sense of
whether a tax-deduction is valuable to you. If you already have too
many tax-deductions, then one more would probably not be monetarily
beneficial to you. If you prepare your own taxes, and they are
simple, it is usually easy to determine whether a tax deduction has a
monetary value to you. If you have an accountant prepare your taxes
for you or your tax forms are complex it would probably be best consult
your accountant about the benefit to you of a tax deduction.
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3. Establish your donation criteria
You can usually make two different types of donations. One is a restricted donation, where you tell the non-profit organization exactly how they can or can't use the piano. The other is a non-restricted donation where the non-profit organization decides how they should best use the piano or whether to sell it or exchange it for resources the non-profit needs to function.
Restricted Donations. In most cases, Building Bridges does not accept restricted donations of a piano. However, we will consider you offer should you have a special situation you want us to consider.
Non-Restricted Donations. A non-restricted donation is one where once you have passed the title of the piano to Building Bridges and it is up to us as to what we will do with the piano. If we do not need another piano, or have no place to put one, it is likely that we will sell the piano to help pay for the programs we are currently operating to benefit the public.
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4. How you can help make it easy for us to accept your donation?
It is important that your
piano be have a wholesale value that is more than the cost of the
move. In some cases, we will ask you to pay for the move (you
receive a tax deduction for this also). In other cases, we can
arrange for a piano mover to pick the piano up at no expense to
you.
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5. IRS filing requirements for piano donations.
If your donation is worth over $500, then you will probably need to file a Form 8283. Here are some links to information on the filing requirements for the IRS:
To make a piano donation, send an email with a description of what you have to Donate Piano now.
THE TRANSACTIONS DESCRIBED HEREIN MAY OR MAY NOT RESULT IN ADVERSE TAX CONSEQUENCES TO YOU OR YOUR BUSINESS. BUILDING BRIDGES, ITS EMPLOYEES, PRINCIPALS AND MEMBERS ARE NOT TAX ADVISORS, AND YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO OBTAIN INDEPENDENT ADVICE WITH REGARD TO THESE MATTERS.
Copyright 2000
Building Bridges. All Rights Reserved.
1630 No. Main St. #307, Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Fax: 925-945-8806
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