Re: Donate Cal 40 to charity?

Leonardo inquired about donating a boat: "Since these larger Cal 40s are illiquid and we're now nearing the end of the tax year, donating it to a qualified 50% charity seems attractive. Combined with the rest of our charitable contributions, this may actually reduce our AGI to the next lower tax bracket, making it even more feasible." I am not an accountant nor a tax lawyer (and I don't even play one on television), but I beg you to get some expert advice before donating something of this size. It is possible to get in a big bind with the IRS. As I (no-doubt imperfectly) understand it, you only get to use the estimated value for the deduction if the receiving organization holds *and uses* the asset for at least 12 months. If they should sell it off before that limit, then you can only claim the actual sale price. And since this can be considerably less than the estimate, you can end up with an unexpected tax bill. If you're not careful, the boat could end up being sold to a live-aboard for a song, and you'll be out both your deduction and your boat. Alfred Poor 1969 Cal 29 #132, "Pentaquod"

Alfred, I work a little bit with this and I am in fact absolutely not an expert. We take boat donations quite often here with the Boy Scouts. The owner needs to get the boat surveyed and can claim 1/2 of the amount for taxes. The boat needs to be in whoevers possession and not sold for 2 years. If the boats is sold then the non profit has to notify the owner and the IRS with the selling price. We just had a pursuit 28 donated and what a sweet boat it is. The boat will be used a lot here with no plans of selling. I hope this helps a little. Rich

Alfred Poor wrote: > > Leonardo inquired about donating a boat: > > > > "Since these larger Cal 40s are illiquid and we're now nearing the > > end of the tax year, donating it to a qualified 50% charity seems > > attractive. Combined with the rest of our charitable contributions, > > this may actually reduce our AGI to the next lower tax bracket, > > making it even more feasible." > > > > I am not an accountant nor a tax lawyer (and I don't even play one on > television), but I beg you to get some expert advice before donating > something of this size. It is possible to get in a big bind with the > IRS. As I (no-doubt imperfectly) understand it, you only get to use > the estimated value for the deduction if the receiving organization > holds **and uses** the asset for at least 12 months. If they should > sell it off before that limit, then you can only claim the actual sale > price. And since this can be considerably less than the estimate, you > can end up with an unexpected tax bill. If you're not careful, the > boat could end up being sold to a live-aboard for a song, and you'll > be out both your deduction and your boat. > > > Al: This is good advice. And while reading it, I noted the comment about Cal 40s being "illiquid," apparently because of size. Judging by the glossy sailing magazines, that's at the low end of the acceptable cruising-boat size these days. I would think that a well-found Cal 40 would fetch a reasonable price. If the boat is not in good condition, it's going to bring a fire-sale price at the charity's auction and, as you observe, the deduction will be only the actual sale price. Our local nonprofit marine historical group collects donated boats all year and auctions them off every spring to support our historic vessels. Most are very well used, to put it politely, and the surprises are usually in the nature of shock that anybody would actually pay to own a 1959 fifteen-foot fiberglass runabout with the transom broken off. Occasionally we get a little bidding war going when we have a decent sailboat or a good powerboat, but the result is usually a bargain for the buyer in those events. Even the decent boats need a lot of cleaning up and TLC, and that keeps the price down. Chris Campbell

Leonardo, How much would it cost to truck to California? How about to sail to Mexico and pack overland to the Pacific side? Anyone ever done that? How about a canal transit? Bruce Stirling From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of Alfred Poor Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2006 10:10 AM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: [Cal_Boats] Re: Donate Cal 40 to charity? Leonardo inquired about donating a boat: "Since these larger Cal 40s are illiquid and we're now nearing the end of the tax year, donating it to a qualified 50% charity seems attractive. Combined with the rest of our charitable contributions, this may actually reduce our AGI to the next lower tax bracket, making it even more feasible." I am not an accountant nor a tax lawyer (and I don't even play one on television), but I beg you to get some expert advice before donating something of this size. It is possible to get in a big bind with the IRS. As I (no-doubt imperfectly) understand it, you only get to use the estimated value for the deduction if the receiving organization holds *and uses* the asset for at least 12 months. If they should sell it off before that limit, then you can only claim the actual sale price. And since this can be considerably less than the estimate, you can end up with an unexpected tax bill. If you're not careful, the boat could end up being sold to a live-aboard for a song, and you'll be out both your deduction and your boat. Alfred Poor 1969 Cal 29 #132, "Pentaquod"

Bruce, et. al. Thanks to all of you for the feedback. I've replied to some of you directly who had requested direct replies, including those of you that support charitable organizations. I've also sent a query to my CPA to research the topic on usage limits, valuations, and other relevant issues. I contacted a few marine transport companies. One from FL quoted $8,489 to transport the Cal 40 from Marathon, FL to San Diego, CA. Based on the pattern it seems that a trucking company that's located near the origin or the destination is the most economical. One from WA quoted $11,946. Another, in TX, quoted 11,000. Regards, Leonardo --- In Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com, "Bruce Stirling" <bruce@...> wrote: > > Leonardo, > > How much would it cost to truck to California? How about to sail to Mexico > and pack overland to the Pacific side? Anyone ever done that? How about a > canal transit? > > Bruce Stirling > > -----Original Message----- > From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf > Of Alfred Poor > Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2006 10:10 AM > To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com > Subject: [Cal_Boats] Re: Donate Cal 40 to charity? > > > > Leonardo inquired about donating a boat: > > > > "Since these larger Cal 40s are illiquid and we're now nearing the > > end of the tax year, donating it to a qualified 50% charity seems > > attractive. Combined with the rest of our charitable contributions, > > this may actually reduce our AGI to the next lower tax bracket, > > making it even more feasible." > > > > I am not an accountant nor a tax lawyer (and I don't even play one on > television), but I beg you to get some expert advice before donating > something of this size. It is possible to get in a big bind with the IRS. As > I (no-doubt imperfectly) understand it, you only get to use the estimated > value for the deduction if the receiving organization holds *and uses* the > asset for at least 12 months. If they should sell it off before that limit, > then you can only claim the actual sale price. And since this can be > considerably less than the estimate, you can end up with an unexpected tax > bill. If you're not careful, the boat could end up being sold to a > live-aboard for a song, and you'll be out both your deduction and your boat. > > > > Alfred Poor > > 1969 Cal 29 #132, "Pentaquod" >

The Florida red cross and the cancer society takes boat donations. Being based in Marathon - there are a couple of charter outfits with older monohulls that may be interested on your boat - I think one of them is based in Key Largo and the other one I thinkin Key Biscayne - not sure. Did you know by any chance Jim and Elouise Sharp? I bought their CAL39 4 years ago after Jim died - they lived in Marathon lennylames <le… [at] yahoo.com> wrote: Bruce, et. al. Thanks to all of you for the feedback. I've replied to some of you directly who had requested direct replies, including those of you that support charitable organizations. I've also sent a query to my CPA to research the topic on usage limits, valuations, and other relevant issues. I contacted a few marine transport companies. One from FL quoted $8,489 to transport the Cal 40 from Marathon, FL to San Diego, CA. Based on the pattern it seems that a trucking company that's located near the origin or the destination is the most economical. One from WA quoted $11,946. Another, in TX, quoted 11,000. Regards, Leonardo --- In Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com, "Bruce Stirling" <bruce@...> wrote: > > Leonardo, > > How much would it cost to truck to California? How about to sail to Mexico > and pack overland to the Pacific side? Anyone ever done that? How about a > canal transit? > > Bruce Stirling > > -----Original Message----- > From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf > Of Alfred Poor > Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2006 10:10 AM > To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com > Subject: [Cal_Boats] Re: Donate Cal 40 to charity? > > > > Leonardo inquired about donating a boat: > > > > "Since these larger Cal 40s are illiquid and we're now nearing the > > end of the tax year, donating it to a qualified 50% charity seems > > attractive. Combined with the rest of our charitable contributions, > > this may actually reduce our AGI to the next lower tax bracket, > > making it even more feasible." > > > > I am not an accountant nor a tax lawyer (and I don't even play one on > television), but I beg you to get some expert advice before donating > something of this size. It is possible to get in a big bind with the IRS. As > I (no-doubt imperfectly) understand it, you only get to use the estimated > value for the deduction if the receiving organization holds *and uses* the > asset for at least 12 months. If they should sell it off before that limit, > then you can only claim the actual sale price. And since this can be > considerably less than the estimate, you can end up with an unexpected tax > bill. If you're not careful, the boat could end up being sold to a > live-aboard for a song, and you'll be out both your deduction and your boat. > > > > Alfred Poor > > 1969 Cal 29 #132, "Pentaquod" > --------------------------------- Get your own web address for just $1.99/1st yr. We'll help. Yahoo! Small Business.