2003 HTML Instructions for Form 8283,

This is archived information that pertains only to the 2003 Tax Year. If you
are looking for information for the current tax year, go to the Tax Prep Help Area.

Table of Contents

Purpose of Form

Purpose of Form

Use Form 8283 to report information about noncash charitable contributions.

Do not use Form 8283 to report out-of-pocket expenses for volunteer work or amounts you gave by check or credit card. Treat these items as cash contributions. Also, do not use Form 8283 to figure your charitable contribution deduction. For details on how to figure the amount of the deduction, see your tax return instructions.

Additional Information

You may want to see Pub. 526, Charitable Contributions (for individuals), and Pub. 561, Determining the Value of Donated Property. If you contributed depreciable property, see Pub. 544, Sales and Other Dispositions of Assets.

Who Must File

You must file Form 8283 if the amount of your deduction for all noncash gifts is more than $500. For this purpose, “amount of your deduction” means your deduction before applying any income limits that could result in a carryover. The carryover rules are explained in Pub. 526. Make any required reductions to fair market value (FMV) before you determine if you must file Form 8283. See Fair Market Value (FMV) on page 2.

Form 8283 is filed by individuals, partnerships, and corporations.

Note:

C corporations, other than personal service corporations and closely held corporations, must file Form 8283 only if the amount claimed as a deduction is over $5,000.

Partnerships and S corporations. A partnership or S corporation that claims a deduction for noncash gifts over $500 must file Form 8283 with Form 1065, 1065-B, or 1120S. If the total deduction of any item or group of similar items exceeds $5,000, the partnership or S corporation must complete Section B of Form 8283 even if the amount allocated to each partner or shareholder does not exceed $5,000.

The partnership or S corporation must give a completed copy of Form 8283 to each partner or shareholder receiving an allocation of the contribution deduction shown in Section B of the partnership's or S corporation's Form 8283.

Partners and shareholders. The partnership or S corporation will provide information about your share of the contribution on your Schedule K-1 (Form 1065 or 1120S).

In some cases, the partnership or S corporation must give you a copy of its Form 8283. If you received a copy of Form 8283 from the partnership or S corporation, attach a copy to your tax return. Deduct the amount shown on your Schedule K-1, not the amount shown on the Form 8283.

If the partnership or S corporation is not required to give you a copy of its Form 8283, combine the amount of noncash contributions shown on your Schedule K-1 with your other noncash contributions to see if you must file Form 8283. If you need to file Form 8283, you do not have to complete all the information requested in Section A for your share of the partnership's or S corporation's contributions. Complete only column (g) of line 1 with your share of the contribution and enter “From Schedule K-1 (Form 1065 or 1120S)” across columns (c)–(f).

When To File

File Form 8283 with your tax return for the year you contribute the property and first claim a deduction.

Which Sections To Complete

If you must file Form 8283, you may need to complete Section A, Section B, or both, depending on the type of property donated and the amount claimed as a deduction.

Section A. Include in Section A only items (or groups of similar items as defined on this page) for which you claimed a deduction of $5,000 or less per item (or group of similar items). Also, include the following publicly traded securities even if the deduction is more than $5,000.

Securities listed on an exchange in which quotations are published daily,
Securities regularly traded in national or regional over-the-counter markets for which published quotations are available, or
Securities that are shares of a mutual fund for which quotations are published on a daily basis in a newspaper of general circulation throughout the United States.

Section B. Include in Section B only items (or groups of similar items) for which you claimed a deduction of more than $5,000 (omit publicly traded securities reportable in Section A). With certain exceptions, items reported in Section B will require information based on a written appraisal by a qualified appraiser.

Similar Items of Property

Similar items of property are items of the same generic category or type, such as stamp collections, coin collections, lithographs, paintings, books, nonpublicly traded stock, land, or buildings.

Example.

You claimed a deduction of $400 for clothing, $7,000 for publicly traded securities (quotations published daily), and $6,000 for a collection of 15 books ($400 each). Report the clothing and securities in Section A and the books (a group of similar items) in Section B.

Special Rule for Certain C Corporations

A special rule applies for deductions taken by certain C corporations under section 170(e)(3) or (4) for contributions of inventory or scientific equipment.

To determine if you must file Form 8283 or which section to complete, use the difference between the amount you claimed as a deduction and the amount you would have claimed as cost of goods sold (COGS) had you sold the property instead. This rule is only for purposes of Form 8283. It does not change the amount or method of figuring your contribution deduction.

If you do not have to file Form 8283 because of this rule, you must attach a statement to your tax return (similar to the one in the example below). Also, attach a statement if you must complete Section A, instead of Section B, because of this rule.

Example.

You donated clothing from your inventory for the care of the needy. The clothing cost you $5,000 and your claimed charitable deduction is $8,000. Complete Section A instead of Section B because the difference between the amount you claimed as a charitable deduction and the amount that would have been your COGS deduction is $3,000 ($8,000 – $5,000). Attach a statement to Form 8283 similar to the following:

Form 8283—Inventory
Contribution deduction	$8,000
COGS (if sold, not donated)	– 5,000
For Form 8283 filing purposes	=$3,000

Fair Market Value (FMV)

Although the amount of your deduction determines if you have to file Form 8283, you also need to have information about the value of your contribution to complete the form.

FMV is the price a willing, knowledgeable buyer would pay a willing, knowledgeable seller when neither has to buy or sell.

You may not always be able to deduct the FMV of your contribution. Depending on the type of property donated, you may have to reduce the FMV to get to the deductible amount, as explained next.

Reductions to FMV. The amount of the reduction (if any) depends on whether the property is ordinary income property or capital gain property. Attach a statement to your tax return showing how you figured the reduction.

Ordinary income property is property that would result in ordinary income or short-term capital gain if it were sold at its FMV on the date it was contributed. Examples of ordinary income property are inventory, works of art created by the donor, and capital assets held for 1 year or less. The deduction for a gift of ordinary income property is limited to the FMV minus the amount that would be ordinary income or short-term capital gain if the property were sold.

Capital gain property is property that would result in long-term capital gain if it were sold at its FMV on the date it was contributed. It includes certain real property and depreciable property used in your trade or business, and generally held for more than 1 year. You usually may deduct gifts of capital gain property at their FMV. However, you must reduce the FMV by the amount of any appreciation if any of the following apply.

The capital gain property is contributed to certain private nonoperating foundations. This rule does not apply to qualified appreciated stock.
You choose the 50% limit instead of the special 30% limit.
The contributed property is tangible personal property that is put to an unrelated use (as defined in Pub. 526) by the charity.

Qualified conservation contribution. If your donation qualifies as a “qualified conservation contribution” under section 170(h), attach a statement showing the FMV of the underlying property before and after the gift and the conservation purpose furthered by the gift. See Pub. 561 for more details.

General Instructions