Monday, May 12, 2008 by Donna.

Can you deduct an Art Donation? No and Yes!

If you donate Art to a non-profit you can’t deduct your time on your income taxes. You can only deduct the cost of materials that went into the art piece. It is the same if you volunteer your time working for a non-profit. I guess that’s why they call it donating and volunteering. You do it because you don’t expect anything in return.

But, if you have an art piece you feel the market would pay a high price for, you could have it appraised and get a Certified Written Appraisal of the Fair Market Value, then you could donate your work and deduct it from your taxes. You may be required to send the appraisal along with your return.

Of course it will cost for the appraisal, but you would get that warm fuzzy feeling when you donate your art to a good cause and get the tax deduction for do it.

As always you should seek the advice of your Tax Accountant or Tax Attorney.

Posted in Art Legislation | 1 Comment »

Sunday, December 23, 2007 by Donna.

During my research on another Tax matter, I came across this Act, “Artist-Museum Partnership Act, S. 548″, that was introduced in February, 2007 to congress. The bill S. 548 is identical to bill H.R. 1524.

The bill was written a number of times but never passed. It was written to allow Artist, Musicians, Writers and Scholars who donate their work to Museums, or Charitable institutions, to deduct the Fair Market Value of their work from their taxes. As it is now, “Artist” are only allowed to deduct the materials associated with the creation of their work, not their time or the value that would be received in the public market.

If you want this bill to pass contact all members of both chambers through their websites at www.senate.gov and www.house.gov.

For a copy of the bill click here: artist-museumpartnershipact_s548.pdf

For more information visit College Art Association, GovTrack.US, or American’s For the Arts

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