Are you building a new home or remodeling your current home?  Consider recycling your building materials instead of just throwing them away.  You end up with a tax donation and help the planet.

Items donated are tax deductible under the following guidelines. This information is provided for general purposes only; it is the donor’s responsibility to know and follow all relevant tax laws and requirements.

A donation receipt can be obtained upon request that will state the quantity and type of material donated. Non-profit companies do NOT establish values for donated material. If you are claiming less than $500 in donated materials, no additional forms are required.

If you are claiming $500 or more, the IRS form 8283 is required to be submitted with your taxes. According to form 8283, if you claim less than $5000 per item or group of similar items, you can self-determine those values and list them in Section A of form 8283.

If you intend to claim $5000 or more per item or group of similar items you must hire an appraiser to determine the value of the materials through a qualified appraisal and the material must be listed in Section B of form 8283. If the latter method is chosen, you must submit a donation receipt along with the completed 8283 and a copy of the qualified appraisal.

For more information on how to determine fair market value or how to determine what constitutes a "group of similar items", refer to IRS form 8283 and the associated information document as well as publication 561, available at www.irs.gov.

The Process: The building is inspected, measured & photographed for documentation purposes hopefully before any deconstruction is done.