[MR] Art donations and deductions

[Leslie Cox]

Until if/when the bill passes and it's exact wording is known, a lot of these questions should wait.  As worded currently, you'd have to get an artwork appraised (which costs money) in order to take advantage of the deduction for other than simply cost of materials as is currently done.  This doesn't mean you are charging for your time in creating the piece - it means that marketable work should be deductable at its market value.

For the most part, from what I can see, it appears that this will mostly benefit professional artists who donate their work to charity benefits (like the one for where I currently work) and will benefit the charities that run art auctions by making it more desirable for artists to donate expensive works.  If you have, say, a piece by someone whose works sells in the hundreds or thousands per painting, unless this bill passes, all they can deduct as a charitable contribution is the cost of framing and materials to create the work.  You can see, from this example, what the bill is apparently aimed at.  The artist doesn't get a fair deduction, and has little incentive to donate a high-priced piece.

This is not to say that I am any kind of expert - I'm only answering as someone with some experience that bears on the question who can maybe give some insight as to the intention of the bill writers.

Once the bill becomes law (note how optimistic I am...) - THAT would be the time to see if there are applications to artists and the SCA.

By the way, YES the SCA is a "charitable cause" under IRS definitions; this has been noted on the list before and I'm sure I'd be corrected if I were wrong on that...

Lady Lucy Rose Falconer
  
mda: Leslie Cox, bookkeeper for The Arc of Wake County, a local 501(c)(3) charity



---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: "Michelle McDaniel" <McDanielM at si.edu>
Date:  Mon, 12 Dec 2005 10:02:40 -0500

>Hey all!
>
>Personally, I like the idea that artists may be able to deduct the fair
>market value of their creations, if donated to a charitable cause. The most
>expensive part of most projects is the time spent planning and making it.
>The raw materials can be next to nothing when compared to the finished
>project.
>
>To know how this will affect the SCA we need to know the legal definitions
>of terms like charitable cause, art, and artist, and who qualifies as
>certified appraisers. Will it only apply to people who make their living
>plying their art or to those artists who also have "day jobs" that
>aren't art related? Will it apply only to fine artists, or to those the
>art establishment tends to consider artisans or craftspeople, as well?
>
>Is the SCA a "charitable organization" as such? (I know it is a
>non-profit, educational organization but that doesn't mean it is
>considered a "charitable organization" for the purposes of this Bill.)
>When we donate our art, to whom do we donate it? Is it considered a gift
>from the individual scribe and illuminator (or other creators for other
>works) to the one receiving it or is it given to TRM as the personification
>of "The Kingdom of Atlantia, SCA Inc." to give to the recipients? 
>
>How are the tangible items received as part of various awards (scrolls,
>medallions, articles of clothing, coronets, etc.) different from items
>donated for auctions and the like? 
>
>Do things have to be unique to count as art? Is the creation of medallions
>for various orders art?
>
>This definitely is an opportunity, if only we can figure out what the
>limits are.
>
>**aelfwynn of whitby** 
>
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