Gifts of Tangible Personal Property
Gifts of tangible personal property may include works of art, jewelry, silver, antiques, and valuable coin or stamp collections, for example.

The charitable gift of tangible personal property to the University of Hartford can be a good way to divest yourself of financially valuable items that may be expensive to insure, highly appreciated and therefore subject to capital gains tax, or that may be of significant aesthetic or educational value to the University of Hartford.

The key issue a donor must consider before making a gift of tangible personal property is whether or not the university can, or is willing to, put the property to a related use. The issue of related use has a direct bearing on the tax consequences to the donor.

Another factor involved is the determination and documentation of the appraised value of a tangible gift asset. The Internal Revenue Code provides specific guidelines for appraising and reporting, which must be followed to support a charitable income tax deduction. A special Appraisal Summary form (IRS Form 8283) must be filled out by a qualified independent appraiser, signed by the university, and included with the donor's income tax return. If the University of Hartford deems it appropriate to sell the property within two years of the gift, it will also report on the disposition of the property using IRS Form 8282.

There are a number of ways you could make a gift to the University of Hartford using a tangible asset.

Outright Gift
For an outright gift of tangible personal property, the charitable income tax deduction the donor receives will depend on what the university does with the property.

If you are interested in having the University of Hartford display or keep the property, then there must be a specific use for the item at the university which is related to our tax-exempt status. If the related use rule applies, the donor is then eligible for a charitable income tax deduction equal to the full-appraised value of the item.

If the donated property is not directly related to our educational tax-exempt purpose, however, the donor is not allowed a full-value income tax deduction. The university can still accept your contribution, but it is very likely that the item will be sold. In that case, your charitable income tax deduction would be equal to the cost basis of the property. Federal tax law requires donors contributing personal property gifts exceeding a cumulative value of $5,000 in one year to submit a qualified independent appraisal and the appraiser's credentials in order to receive an income tax deduction.

Charitable Remainder Trusts
Personal property can be placed in a charitable remainder net income unitrust, ideally using a "flip" provision that is triggered by the sale of the property within the trust. With this arrangement, a named trustee would sell the property, at which time the proceeds would begin to provide an income stream for the life or lives of the income beneficiary(ies). However, the contribution of personal property to the University of Hartford through a charitable remainder unitrust does not typically allow the donor any charitable income tax deduction.

Bequests
If you make a charitable assignment of tangible personal property in your will, the value of your taxable estate is reduced by an amount equal to the appraised value of the property. Ideally, we would appreciate knowing about your bequest of tangible personal property before we receive it. If you wish to place any limitations on the university's use of the property in your will, it would be helpful to provide us in advance with some degree of flexibility in the disposition of the property. (For more discussion of this suggestion, please see Deeds of Gift and/or Named Endowed Funds.)

For more information about structuring and planning gifts involving tangible personal property, please contact the director of Planned Giving for a confidential consultation.

For more information on Planned Giving, contact Peter Congleton at 860.768.2415 or congleton@hartford.edu


Please note that the University of Hartford does not provide tax or legal advice. Gift calculations may be provided for illustrative purposes only, and the actual values may vary based on the timing and nature of your gift. Advice from legal and tax counsel should be sought when considering a charitable gift of any kind.