Donate Real Estate (Land & Buildings)

Donating real property (land, house, commercial buildings, etc.) to the American Eagle Foundation can prove to be the best alternative to selling, due to the quick liquidation of assets, numerous tax breaks, and the opportunity to benefit our charitable eagle conservation work.

In many circumstances, selling is not ideal for unproductive property due to the many costs involved that outweigh the actual property worth. Because of this, many people and companies hold on to the idle real estate for lack of a better alternative, continuing to pay taxes, maintenance, upkeep costs, and state/city fines, etc. – without ever seeing a return on their investment.

Donating real estate to a charity you care about can offer you the solution to this problem.

If you are interested in donating property to our eagle conservation organization, please contact Al Cecere at 865-429-0157 for more information.

Donate Personal Property (equipment & supplies):
Obtain a tax deduction for the donation of a boat, sailboat, yacht, automobile, art, or an airplane.

The federal government encourages donations of personal property to public, non-profit charities.

The same tax deductions are permitted for donations of personal property as for cash donations. This is not a tax loophole but a definite recognition on the part of Congress of the importance of such a gift to a qualified, IRS approved organization.

The Internal Revenue Service distributes several publications to guide the public and their tax advisors in determining the best way to handle their property contributions.

Publication #526: Charitable Contributions

Publication #561: Determining the Value of Donated Property.

Please note: you will need a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the files.  (for PCs)  (for Macs)

Generally you may deduct an amount up to 50% of your adjusted gross income and if your contribution exceeds 50% of your gross income, you may deduct the excess in the 5 succeeding years until it is used.

If you donate your property to a qualified organization, you may generally deduct the fair market value at the time of the contribution. The value of your property is determined by an appraisal from an expert in the field related to your property. The IRS, in their Publication #561, suggests using marine surveyors and published market guides to help determine the fair market value of boats.

Once you have decided to dispose of your property, you must decide which method is the quickest and most financially rewarding, an outright sale or a donation. There are a Number of ways to increase your financial return on a donation, one of which is a Bargain Sale.

A Bargain Sale is a sale of property to a charity at less than its fair market value, with a result that is in part a sale of the property and in part a charitable contribution.

For Example: If you sell your property with a fair market value of $60,000 to a charity for $15,000, you are allowed a deduction for all or part of the $45,000 gift.

Bargain Sale.
In looking at a sale, you must take into consideration all of the expenses you must expect. Storage, dockage, insurance, repairs, investment interest and brokerage sale commission are a few of the expenses to be expected before you sell your property. After you have signed a sales contract and the buyer surveys the property, you probably will be met with more expenses. There are always repair items that need to be corrected after a purchaser's survey, and in most cases the seller ends up paying for them. You must also realize that the length of time a property is on the market before selling is generally over 6 months.

With a donation, all expenses cease when the property is donated.

The main factors in a property donation are that you can tell now exactly what the net return on your property is and your expenses end now. You don't have to wait six months or more and then find that your return is far less than you expected.

If you are interested in donating personal property to our eagle conservation organization, please contact Al Cecere at 865-429-0157 for more information.

How Your Donation Helps