Tangible Personal Property: Artwork, Collectibles, and Other Items
As with gifts of long-term, capital-gain securities or real estate, you are entitled to a charitable deduction for a gift of long-term, capital-gain tangible personal property such as works of art, rare books, and stamp or coin collections, etc. (Note: The capital-gain tax rate on such assets is 28 percent.) How much you can deduct depends on the so-called standard of "related use."
Here is how the standard is applied: If the use of the contributed property is related to the exempt purposes of a charity (e.g., a painting to a museum or rare books to a library), you are entitled to a charitable income-tax deduction for the full-market value of the property.
If the use of the contributed property is unrelated to the exempt purposes of the charity (e.g., stamp collection to Georgia Tech to sell and use the proceeds), you are entitled to a charitable deduction for your basis in the property.
| Tangible Property | Related Use | Unrelated Use |
| Fair-Market Value Cost Basis Charitable Deduction Actual Tax Savings (33%) |
$20,000 $5,000 $20,000 $6,600 |
$20,000 $5,000 $5,000 $1,650 |
Please note: The federal estate tax is currently back in effect through the end of 2012. The top tax rate is now 35%, and the exclusion amount is $5,120,000 per person and $10,240,000 per married couple. Any exclusion amount not used by a spouse who dies after December 31, 2010, is portable and generally may be used by the surviving spouse. It is very important that you seek the advice of your estate-planning attorney to determine what changes, if any, need to be made to your existing estate plans.