Almost every day I receive requests for donations of art to help raise money for worthy causes with the sales pitch that I can use the value of the donation as a deduction on my income tax. Not true. Over and over again some organizations seek more than the gift of a print, they ask for an original painting citing the tax deduction incentive and the other overworked expression; great exposure! If you believe in the charity and want to donate, by all means do so, but don’t do it for the tax deduction or exposure.
First, let’s examine the great exposure angle. A print placed on a table amid a long line of other merchandise for a silent auction usually without any information about the artist, or held up at an outcry auction with no artist information is not much exposure. I can not remember a time when a stranger ever told me that they discovered my art and learned about me at a charity fund raiser.
Second, the tax deduction thing. Yes, by all means take one but don’t be deceived. You can only deduct the cost of materials used to make the product, nothing else. Argue all you want, but this is the law. You cannot take the market value and you cannot calculate the labor and use these figures as your tax deduction. For example let’s use a hypothetical painting with a market value of $6,000.00 that took the artist four weeks of labor to create, all that can be deducted on the IRS Tax forms is the cost of the materials used. Let’s break down the costs of this hypothetical painting, it was created on a 24″x 30″ canvas at a cost of $24.00, the paint used is estimated at about $35.00, and the cost of the frame is $150.00, the total cost of materials is $164.00. $164.00 is all that can be deducted! The next time you are solicited for a donation with the hype of tax deductions and exposure, use this opportunity as a chance to educate.
Gail Niebrugge, fine art paintings
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