Tax Appraisals of Manuscript Collections

This article on appraisals of manuscripts for tax deduction purposes is intended as a guide for archivists in dealing with potential donors' questions relating to the tax deductibility of collections and the selection of an appraiser. The services that an appraiser can provide are discussed, as are the various aspects of the relationship between the archivist and the appraiser. Procedures for the determination of the fair market value of manuscripts are analyzed in detail with particular emphasis on the methods of relating research value in a collection to commercial value in the marketplace. Numerous factors that can affect the value of manuscripts are discussed. Previous tax court rulings are discussed as are the archivist's and the appraiser's responsibilities should it be necessary for them to discuss the collection with the Internal Revenue Service.