Determine the Fair Market Value of Furniture & Appliances
Donating furniture and appliances typically means that you can write off the donation on your taxes. But before rushing to fill out your tax form, you will need to determine the fair market value of the items, as they are used and possibly out of style. The fair market value is the price that a seller would sell the item for and a buyer would buy it for if the market conditions are normal. This means that no one is desperate to sell or buy and there is no shortage or surplus of the item.
Instructions
1. Visit local thrift stores, secondhand stores and garage sales to look for similar items, as you will not find any identical appliances or furniture. According to the IRS, the fair market value will likely be much less than what you paid. Write down the selling prices of the similar items in a notebook as you find them. This will allow you to refer to them later.
2. Check eBay.com and Craigslist.org to see what people in your area are selling similar items for. These prices may be lower than what you saw in the secondhand stores as the sellers may be in a hurry to sell the items. Make a note of the prices in your notebook for later comparison.
3. Consult valuation guides at your local library if you have antique or specialty furniture and appliances that you are trying to get a fair market value for. You may also need to consult an appraiser for antiques.
4. Take the prices that you have written down for the items that you want to value. You may have a wide range of prices or they may be close together. Either way you should add together the prices that you got for each item and then divide that number by the total number of prices you have for it. This will give you the average price, which can be a good number to use for the fair market value. The average will take into account a wide variety of conditions in the market.
