What constitutes the fair market value of a donated item?
It is the Donor’s responsibility to state what was paid for the item originally or, to the best of his/her ability, what the item would be sold for. The IRS defines fair market value as: “the price a willing buyer will pay a willing seller, in normal marketplace in which the item is sold, neither being under any compulsion to sell.” Therefore, new or used items available for sale at a retail establishment (physical or electronic) would be valued according to the normal selling price of the item. The valuation for collectables, such as art and antiques, worth more than $5,000 must be established by the written opinion of a qualified appraiser and submitted with the donated item. For items valued worth less than $5,000, a written opinion (an informal appraisal by an antique dealer) is helpful to document the valuation that may be claimed for income tax purposes.
