Is artwork purchased at a charity art auction or charity art show tax deductible?

Question

Is artwork purchased at a charity art auction or charity art show tax deductible?

Answer 1

No, because you got something for your money.

You can't claim you overspent because the money was going for a good cause--since there is no way to value the artwork separately.

Answer 2

It depends on whether the chartiy is recognized by the IRS. YOu can only deduct the excess of the amount paid over the actual value.

Answer 3

Only any excess that you paid over the value of the item.  Usually what you pay is considered its fair value, so no deduction.

Answer 4

There could be but you would need to show that the price you paid was greatly over the Fair Market Value.  That would be hard unless the same item was available elsewhere for a fixed price which was less than what you were paying and that difference was going directly to the charity.  You however would not be the first person to have written a check to the charity for a product and take the full amount as a deduction because it is written to a charity. This is rather common if you also have other gifts to the same charity such as a church.