noncash donation

[luke]

I have a client who has a one week timeshare that he wants to donate to Habitat for Humanity (they would then "auction" off that week's stay as a fund raiser) - they have told him that they will give him a receipt for an in-kind donation - I do not think donating one week's use of a timeshare is even deductible (per Quickfinder handbook - couldnt find anything in TTB) - IF it was deductible at what amount?

[Gene V]

Originally Posted by luke

I have a client who has a one week timeshare that he wants to donate to Habitat for Humanity (they would then "auction" off that week's stay as a fund raiser) - they have told him that they will give him a receipt for an in-kind donation - I do not think donating one week's use of a timeshare is even deductible (per Quickfinder handbook - couldnt find anything in TTB) - IF it was deductible at what amount?

TTB 4-15
* Example: Kathy owns a condo in Florida that she rents to tourists on a
short-term basis. She donates two weeks use of the condo to a charity.
The amount of rent she could have received is not deductible as a
charitable contribution.

[erchess]

The example Gene cited reads to me as though the charity did not realize income from their use bit perhaps held a staff retreat or retreats there or allowed someone to vacation there free of charge. In original post the charity is going to auction off the Taxpayer's interest I would think he could deduct the lower of his cost for the week or the amount received by the charity. And that is without being too assertive and applying the rules for a donation of appreciated property.

Maybe Gene or someone else can show me where special rules apply to timeshares or all rented properties. I would need a cite and as I pointed out Gene's cite seems irrelevant to me.

[Gene V]

Originally Posted by erchess

Gene's cite seems irrelevant to me.

Erchess, I was answering Luke question on where it said in the TTB the same thing he found in the QF.

From J.K.Lasser’s

To help charity raise money, one owner allowed the charity to auction off a week’s stay in his vacation home, and the highest bidder paid the charity a fair rental. The IRS ruled that not only was the owner’s donation not deductible, but the one week stay by the bidder was considered personal use by the owner for purposes of figuring deductions for rental expenses. True, if the owner had directly rented the property to the bidder, the bidder’s payment of a fair rental value would have been counted as a rental day and not a personal use day. However, the donation for charitable use is not a business rental, and bidder’s rental payment to the charity is not considered a payment to the owner.

[DonPriebe]

Originally Posted by erchess

The example Gene cited reads to me as though the charity did not realize income from their use bit perhaps held a staff retreat or retreats there or allowed someone to vacation there free of charge. In original post the charity is going to auction off the Taxpayer's interest I would think he could deduct the lower of his cost for the week or the amount received by the charity. And that is without being too assertive and applying the rules for a donation of appreciated property.

Maybe Gene or someone else can show me where special rules apply to timeshares or all rented properties. I would need a cite and as I pointed out Gene's cite seems irrelevant to me.

The donation of less than the entire interest in a property is not deductible. From the IRS web site version of Pub 526
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p526...blink100049656

Example 2.

Mandy White owns a vacation home at the beach that she sometimes rents to others. For a fund-raising auction at her church, she donated the right to use the vacation home for 1 week. At the auction, the church received and accepted a bid from Lauren Green equal to the fair rental value of the home for 1 week. Mandy cannot claim a deduction because of the partial interest rule. Lauren cannot claim a deduction either, because she received a benefit equal to the amount of her payment. See Contributions From Which You Benefit, earlier.

[Yes, we all know that a Pub is not a valid cite, but ignoring it only leads to problems.]

[luke]

for all the replies - I simply overlooked the TTB example

[erchess]

To Gene and Don for sticking to your guns when you were right and I was wrong and to Luke for raising a very interesting point. However, I need a bit more help.

Now that my memory is jogged I remember the general rule that a gift of less than a whole interest in property is not deductible. However, I also think I remember an exception for people who loan a piece of art to a museum or educational institution and claim some kind of deduction based on its sale value and the amount of time they let the institution have it. Am I right, wrong, or out of date in that?

[Davc]

I believe there was a court case or PLR that allowed a deduction when the donors put restrictions as to the manner of display for a piece of art but there where no limitations on time as long as the restrictions were followed.