Polychronopolous

"Appraisal Fees

Fees that you pay to find the fair market value of donated property are not deductible as contributions. You can claim them, subject to the 2%-of-adjusted-gross-income limit, as a miscellaneous itemized deduction on Schedule A (Form 1040). See Deductions Subject to the 2% Limit in Publication 529 for more information.

Contributions to Donor Advised Funds

You cannot deduct a contribution to a donor advised fund after February 13, 2007, if:
The qualified organization that sponsors the fund is a war veterans' organization, a fraternal society, or a nonprofit cemetery company, or
You do not have an acknowledgment from that sponsoring organization that it has exclusive legal control over the assets contributed.
There are also other circumstances in which you cannot deduct your contribution to a donor advised fund.
Generally, a donor advised fund is a fund or account in which a donor can, because of being a donor, advise the fund how to distribute or invest amounts held in the fund. For details, see Internal Revenue Code section 170(f)(18).
Partial Interest in Property
Generally, you cannot deduct a contribution of less than your entire interest in property. For details, see Partial Interest in Property under Contributions of Property, later.

Contributions of Property

If you contribute property to a qualified organization, the amount of your charitable contribution is generally the fair market value of the property at the time of the contribution. However, if the property has increased in value, you may have to make some adjustments to the amount of your deduction."

The preceding is an excerpt from IRS Publication 526. I apologize to those of you who actually read that whole thing. I felt it was necessary. Regrettably, this is a clear-cut case of the actions of few resulting in the punishment of many.

Apparently, I have been writing too much about college basketball lately, according to a couple of female readers who shall rename nameless. Hey, it's mid-fucking-March, what do you want from me? You're reading the blog of a guy who didn't go to Cancun for spring break with all his roommates when he was 19 years old because he "didn't want to miss a single minute of Kirk Hinrich's last tournament run." What do you think I'm gonna be writing about right now? Here is a breakdown of what is running through my brain all day during March:

45%......Taxes

45%......College basketball

8%........My next chili cheese wrap from Sonic

1%.........Whether or not it would be appropriate to hang up a poster of Kelly Kapowski in my office

1%.........Everything else

So, ladies/non-college basketball fans, unless you want me to write about the deductability of energy-efficient improvements to building property, or the exclusion rate of employers' annual contributions to simplified employee pension plans, or how bad I want to bang Kelly Kapowski (which I'll probably write about anyway at some point) you may just have to deal with the college hoops for a bit. I'll leave you with this picture, which has been making the rounds through facebook/email. I think it's hiiiiii-larious, me being a Star Wars geek and all.

This is great partly because of the half-empty bottle of booze on the nightstand, like the Stormtrooper has been drinking himself to sleep every night. Additionally, Stormtrooper costumes are just awesome.