Hi John,
Thanks as always for your feedback. Tag on question. The Business Office wants to record this gift in kind on the books with a donor provided value of $40K. We have an itemized list from the donor with their assigned value for each item. Would this be sufficient for my institution to enter the gift?
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Tatiana Walzer
University of Saint Francis
twalzer@sf.edu------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 07-09-2025 04:36 PM
From: John Taylor
Subject: Appraisal Needed for GIK?- All Individual Items Valued Less $5K but Total Over $40K
You never need an appraisal. It is only the donor who may need to obtain one (or several).
Even if the value exceeds the IRS threshold as established for Form 8283 ($5,000 for the item, unless several items constitute a "collection"), the donor may still decide not to pursue a deduction. That is the donor's decision.
We should never advise a donor on what they need to do for tax purposes. Although when it comes to GIKs, I always tell donors, "You may need to obtain an appraisal and file form 8283 to claim a deduction. Please seek guidance from your tax advisor."
So, I would say the same thing to this donor. Don't tell them what they need (or don't need) - other than to consult with their tax professional.
BTW, even if they do obtain an appraisal, we cannot demand a copy of that. It's not our business. Additionally, there are other methods for determining a value for recording purposes.
John
John H. Taylor, PrincipalJohn H. Taylor Consulting, LLC
2604 Sevier Street
Durham, NC 27705
919.816.5903 (cell/text)
Serving the Advancement Community Since 1987
Original Message:
Sent: 7/9/2025 5:00:00 PM
From: Tatiana Walzer
Subject: Appraisal Needed for GIK?- All Individual Items Valued Less $5K but Total Over $40K
Greetings AASP,
My institution just received a large in-kind donation of medical items from a hospital going out of business. The individual items are valued between $20 - $4K each and the total value provided exceeds $40K. We received both one offs of certain items like specialty scanners ($4K) and groups of other like items like multiple hospital beds (valued at $1K each). Individually all of the items are under the $5K threshold for needing an appraisal but as a group they far exceed the limit.
Can anyone help us understand if we need to get an appraisal of some or all of this?
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Tatiana Walzer
University of Saint Francis
twalzer@sf.edu
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