I'm Josh Levine, a personal property and fine art appraiser in Phoenix, formerly J. Levine Auction & Appraisal. Giving a painting to a museum, a collection to a university or a houseful of antiques to a charity is a generous thing, and the tax code rewards it. It also has rules, and the rule people trip over most is the appraisal. Get it right and the deduction stands. Get it wrong and the deduction can disappear years later in an audit.
I write donation appraisals to USPAP standards, with the content the IRS asks for, and I sign the Form 8283 declaration. I'm not a tax advisor, and your CPA should confirm how the rules apply to your return, but I've written these reports for long enough to know what the form needs.
When the IRS requires a qualified appraisal
In broad strokes, and your CPA has the details:
- Noncash gifts over $500 in total get reported on Form 8283.
- A single item, or a group of similar items, valued over $5,000 needs a qualified appraisal and a Form 8283 Section B signed by the appraiser and the charity.
- Art valued at $20,000 or more generally requires the full appraisal to be attached to the return.
- The appraisal has to be dated no earlier than 60 days before the gift and no later than the due date of the return, including extensions.
- The appraiser can't be the donor, the charity or anyone with a stake in the gift, and the fee can't be based on the appraised value.
Fair market value, not replacement value
Donation appraisals use fair market value: what a willing buyer would pay a willing seller, neither under pressure, both informed. In practice that means comparable auction results and realistic dealer sales, not gallery asking prices. If you have an insurance appraisal, the number on it is a retail replacement value and it will be higher. That isn't the number you can deduct, and using it is one of the quickest ways to draw attention. My report states the definition it uses and shows the comparables, so your CPA can defend the figure.
There's one more wrinkle worth asking your CPA about: how the charity will use the gift. A painting donated to a museum that will display it is treated differently from the same painting donated to a charity that will sell it. I'll ask the question so the report reflects the right scenario.
What you get
A written appraisal that includes everything the IRS lists for a qualified appraisal: a full description of each item with photographs, its condition, the date or expected date of contribution, the fair market value and the effective date, the method and the specific comparable sales used, a statement that the report was prepared for income tax purposes, and my qualifications and signed declaration. I complete and sign the appraiser section of Form 8283 Section B. The charity signs its section; your CPA attaches what's required.
How the process works
Call or send photos and tell me what you're donating, to whom and roughly when. Timing matters because of the 60-day window, so the first thing we'll do is make sure the appraisal date and the gift date line up. I examine and photograph the items, in your home or wherever they are, research the market and write the report. You review a draft, then I deliver the signed final and the completed 8283 section.
If the charity has a gift acceptance form, a deed of gift or a curator who wants to be involved, send them my way. Museums and universities usually have a process and I'm glad to work inside it.
Timeline
I reply within one business day. A single significant piece turns around quickly. A large group of items takes longer because each one has to be researched and described. Tell me your gift date and your filing date when you call and I'll build the schedule around them. If you're already up against year end, say so, and we'll see what's possible.
How quotes work
I don't post prices because a single painting and a 200-piece collection are different jobs. Call or send photos and I'll quote the whole thing before any work starts. The fee is never a percentage of the appraised value, which the IRS prohibits for a qualified appraisal anyway, and I have no connection to the charity or to any buyer.
What's worth appraising and what isn't
Used clothing and ordinary furniture going to a thrift store don't need me; the charity's receipt and your own reasonable estimate are fine. Call when the gift is art, antiques, Native American material, rare books, instruments, silver, a collection, or anything you suspect could clear the $5,000 line on its own or as a group. I'll tell you honestly on the first call whether an appraisal is worth it. Sometimes the right answer is that the item is worth more sold at auction with the proceeds donated, and I'll say that too.