Given an LCD television using primarily for personal use, if I were to donate it what would the donation value be?
I assumed that I should take straight-line depreciation over its useful life? IRS says 5-years for computer equipment, but I couldn't find an IRS guideline for TV's. Googling turning up a non-IRS page suggesting 12-year for color TVs.
IRS Pub 561 says you have to use fair market value. You cannot simply use a depreciated value.
You should attempt to determine what people normally pay for comparable items, and be prepared to defend your determination with evidence in the event of an audit.
The usual lazy recommendation: See what similar objects, in similar condition, of similar age, have sold for recently on eBay. That establishes a fair market value by directly polling the market.
Is it a tube television, digital, analog, what? Tube televisions are no longer made in (or imported to) the U.S., and if it's an analog set then it would require a digital converter just for anyone to use it for watching broadcast signals, since analog television signals are gone and have been replaced by DTV. That makes all the difference in the world as far as valuation. If it doesn't have resale value to begin with then I doubt you can put a real value on it for donation purposes.
I used TurboTax last year. It had a section for donations where it figured out the amounts of the IRS approved values for a donation.
You would need to know the size of the television and the current condition it is in.
He's a screenshot - though it's not from the TV section.
TurboTax offers a free online tool called ItsDeductible that does the same thing (though I haven't tried it).
Unfortunately, I don't have the current one with TV's to give you the range of amounts that apply to yours.
--I am not affiliated with TurboTax and did not receive it for free for a review.
