Donating a boat

[SHAMROCK69]

Anyone ever donated a boat and claimed the tax right off? I hear as long as the value is less than 6k you don't need a survey. I have an 89 19 Ft I/O that I have out grown and am finding that selling it is becoming more of a hassle than it is worth. Not a bad boat, ran well last summer and I had it running this spring but when I went to show yesterday it would not turn over. Engine turned by hand but got the old click with a new battery. Seems like either a bad starter or connection/cable. Boat motor and trailer is probably worth fair price $2500.00 to $3000.00 and books around $5K. I have had enough and offered it to the prospective buyer for $1500.00 and he countered at $1200.00 if I could get it running. Said no thanks and am now figuring out what to do.

Thanks

[theoldwizard]

Really no different than donating a car.

The burden of proof for the value is on you at tax time. You need to find several other references for the sane make/model year and engine, or some kind of "blue book" value.

If you couldn't sell it for $1500, the IRS might say that is not worth $1500

P.S. I did the same on an old boat I could not get rid of, but didn't bother claiming anything. Years later, the engine and trailer were gone but the 30+ yr old 15 ft hull was still sitting in their back lot

[glacierbaze]

On the one hand, you don't have to tell the IRS that you couldn't sell the boat before you donated it. On the other hand, dumping a boat that you can't sell on a charitable organiztion just to get the tax write-off is not doing them any favors. Unless it is something like a community college that can benefit from working on the engine in a shop class, you are just causing more strain on their limited resources. Sell it for $1000 and you get the same benefit as donating a $2000 boat if you're in the 50% tax bracket range. You'll feel better not seeing that boat rotting away on their property 10 years from now.

[horseradish]

Quite a common practice down here. Our local highschool has an annual "boat auction" that is their major fundraiser every year. Other charities will also take them. Actually, it's a good deal for everyone.

[SHAMROCK69]

Thanks for the replies

Sorry but I have not been 100% clear on this. The main reason I have not been able to sell the boat is lack of effort on my part. I have not advertised it, other than a sign on the boat, which I parked by the side of a not so busy road inside a gated community. Shocker I have had only a couple of inquires.

Every time I think to advertise in the paper it seems we have something on the weekend schedule. With work, family etc it is hard to justify putting much time into the old boat. It will not take much to get it going and if I can donate it to some one like the Sea Scouts who auction it off they should get enough out of it to be worth there time and effort. Hoping for a win win situation for everyone.

Thanks

[tigreen]

I just donated a pontoon boat to the local Boy Scout troop. It needs minor refurbishing which will make a great father/Scout project for the troop. When they are done refurbing it, they plan to auction it off. They plan to use the proceeds to buy a utility trailer to haul their camping gear. I got a tax credit...the troop gets a great team-building project...and they get to raise some much needed $$. Everyone is happy.

[dogboy]

i bought a boat last year, and the seller sent the entire purchase price to a charity.....if you use one of those clearinghouses, the charity gets about 10 cents on the dollar..i read a newspaper article about one in my area last year....it really is unconsionable(sp) what they get away with..... .ever hear of Father Flotsky?.......it seems to be quite a scam.....try hooking some jumper cables directy to the starter solenoid (or whacking it with a hammer) before you give up.....bottom line, i got a boat i could not otherwise have afforded, the charity got all the money from the sale, and no parasites were fed.....

[pwelch]

A couple of years ago I had a 22 foot sailboat that I thought might be hard to sell. I tried two Boy Scout troops, and two charities without success. Next, my wife and I spent a weekend cleaning the boat up, put a For Sale sign on her in the local marina (for a very reasonable price) and the boat sold in two weeks. It would have been some easy money for the local charity that turned me down.

[Towing on Delta]

Often times these Charities who take these Boats, Cars and otherthings
inturn sell them in bulk as is to salvage yards who in turn then part them out for stock, most often they will never see water again which is just as well in most cases
Tom