Normally people donate cash, clothing or other household goods to charitable organizations. It is not so common to donate commercial property. That's not to say it can’t be done. Property owners may decide to donate their property to a charity for a variety of reasons; the donation process for commercial property can be easier with the help of the Giving Center.
When you are deciding which charity you would like to donate property to, remember you may only collect tax benefits with an IRS approved nonprofit charity. Although you can give your property to any charity you wish, you can only deduct the donation if it is made to a charity recognized by the Internal Revenue Service. Giving Center is an IRS certified 501(c)3 nonprofit charity. That means you can donate property to Giving Center and not have any capital gains exposure because you are donating — not selling — the property.
The Giving Center has a simple online form that collects all the general details needed to start the donation process, including property address and owner, type of property, and condition. Giving Center runs a standard review on the property, including title search, tax and lien search, and environmental violations search to determine if the charity will be able to accept your property. If your generous donation can be accepted they will take care of all the rest and then send the closing documents to you for signing.
Keep in mind the size of your tax deduction is determined by the current market value of the property, as opposed to the cost of the property when it was purchased. So if you purchased your property in 1968 for $92,000 and this year it is worth $892,000, the current value is what you base your tax deduction on and in this case, it will be quite substantial.
Giving Center also excepts other types of property donations such as house donation, land donation, industrial property donation, farmland donation, rental property donation.
Talk to your CPA about all the ways a real estate donation can benefit you.
