I’ve conducted hundreds of auctions for nonprofit [501(c)(3)] organizations. For the most part, we have charged a fee for those services. The question we answer today is: Can auctioneers — such as us — deduct our time (service) as a charitable contribution? The short answer is — we cannot.
As can be seen in IRS Publication 526: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p526.pdf, the “value of your time or services” is not deductible.
So the next question is usually, “Okay, what if I charge a fee and donate that fee back to the nonprofit?” Of course, if the income is earned as a fee, and the donation is subsequent, this may be seen as some benefit to the contributor but this involves a tax deduction, and not a tax credit.
Generally speaking your income earned can be reduced by charitable contributions and therefore less tax will be due. In essence, earning a fee of $2,500 as the auctioneer and donating that $2,500 back to the charity would have a -0- net effect — essentially the same as if the auctioneer merely donated his services to begin with …
There are a number of other tax issues at benefit/charity auctions and we previously wrote about some of the most commonly discussed topics here: https://mikebrandlyauctioneer.wordpress.com/2016/09/05/tax-issues-at-a-benefit-auction/
Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, CAI, CAS, AARE has been an auctioneer and certified appraiser for over 30 years. His company’s auctions are located at: Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, RES Auction Services and Goodwill Columbus Car Auction. He serves as Distinguished Faculty at Hondros College, Executive Director of The Ohio Auction School, an Instructor at the National Auctioneers Association’s Designation Academy and America’s Auction Academy. He is faculty at the Certified Auctioneers Institute held at Indiana University and is approved by the The Supreme Court of Ohio for attorney education.
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