Tweet
Remember the famous quote attributed to Pt Barnum regarding suckers born every minute. At the price per watt the quote still seems to be valid.
-
-
Congratulations!
That is honestly more than I would have expected it to sell for.
Donations to charities are valued at their fair market value.
$13K appears to be fair market value in this case. (arms length transaction, buyer and seller knew all the relevant facts, etc.)
It is possible to artificially inflate your estimate of FMV for a donation. (I think it used to be fairly common that donated vehicles were claimed to have a FMV well above what they'd realistically be worth)
But for donations above $5000 (like this would be), you have to have a "qualified appraisal" done by a "qualified appraiser" - and that is what will determine what you can claim as FMV.
(See IRS pub 561 on donations for more details)
So I don't see how he could have been better off donating it.
At best he'd get credit on his taxes for ~40% of the value - and short of fraud I don't see how you'd get a ~$32k FMV on that donation.
Comment
-
I'd agree with you in a world where everyone (or most everyone) is honest. While certainly not advocating or supporting fraudulent behavior, in the real world, I know better. It's been my experience that the more $$ involved and the lower the chance of an audit, the more creative the logic seems to become.
Besides, I'm unaware of the OP's tax situation.
Also, and I don't for 1 hot second agree with the B.S. logic - but I've seen it used - what if I took page out of the real estate slug's and solar peddler's book and as an example, said a PV system is worth [(annual savings)* (remaining service life) * (1500 kWh/yr per STC kW) * (19.25 kW / (say)15 years) * ((say) $0.15/kWh) ~= $65 K. If that's not fraud in valuing how much a PV system increases the selling price of a residence, particularly if capital gains are a factor, is it fraud for valuing that same asset in a similar if it's being disassembled, shipped and donated ? Just wondering.Comment
-
IMO - yes that would be fraud, as it would not be FMV.
When they were caught the qualified appraiser would have problems - they'd have a penalty of 125% of the fee they were paid and have legal liability.
And I expect that every other appraisal they did would also be looked at very carefully by the auditors.
Comment
-
Well said azdave.Comment
-
Wow, preilly did really well on that sale. My 10 kW system is $1.03/W new, turnkey installed. Solaris 360W all black panels, IronRidge mounts, SolarEdge inverters, P370 Power optimizers, etc. I think preilly made out like a bandit!
Comment
-
I think he did well also, better than most her probably expected. I suspect that may have as much or more to do with buyer ignorance than other things.
On your price of $1.03/STC W, to avoid confusion, around here folks usually talk of system prices prices before any U.S. fed. ITC, or any state or other credits/rebates etc. What was uour price/STC W before all credts, etc. ?Comment
Comment