Contributions of motor vehicles, boats and planes.

The Service has issued a new form, 1098-C, Contributions of Motor Vehicles, Boats and Planes, for donations of these items exceeding $500.

Background: Under new Sec. 170(f)(12), added by American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 Section 884(a), contributions of motor vehicles, boats and airplanes exceeding $500 in claimed value are disallowed, unless the taxpayer attaches the donee's contemporaneous written acknowledgment of the gift to the return claiming the contribution (for details, see Nissenbaum, "Significant Individual Provisions of the AJCA," TTA, February 2005, p. 92). The IRS has now issued Form 1098-C for such substantiation, for affected contributions made after 2004. A separate form must be used for each such gift in the same tax year exceeding $500 in claimed value.

New form: Generally, a charity is required to furnish Form 1098-C to donors within 30 days after (1) it sold the contribution or (2) the contribution date. The deduction is limited to the amount shown in box 4c, "Gross proceeds from sale," unless box 5a or 5b is checked (see the exhibit below). The taxpayer must attach copy B to the return claiming the deduction. (Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions, must also be attached, if the total of all cash gifts exceeds $500.)

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Lesli S. Laffie, J.D., LL.M.