On Sun, 4 Mar 2001, Sellam Ismail wrote:
> On Sun, 4 Mar 2001, ajp166 wrote:
>
> > Things to consider:
> >
> > Is it truly rare or uncommon.
> > Does an institution actually want it.
>
> Very good point. A lot of the "official" computer museums won't take
> common stuff. You can check out The Computer Museum's donation criteria
> here:
>
> http://www.computerhistory.org/contribute/index.page#artifacts
>
> Basically, they say they won't accept any common machines anymore. They
> have plenty.
>
> Also, people have a misconception of how useful a tax deduction really is.
> Even a $1,000 donation only amounts to a few dollars back on their return.
> I'm going to check with my tax guy and find out how much a donation
> deduction means on the bottom line (unless someone here knows this). It'd
> be nice to have a baseline figure so that you could just offer the
> equivalent cash to anyone wanting to donate something but is considering
> the tax break. Cash is immediate and under-the-table :)
Well, with a few caveats, it should be your marginal tax rate (your
'bracket') times the valuation of the donation. For example, your $1000
donation should bring you a $280 tax deduction if you are in the 28%
bracket.
- don
> > Who removes, moves and/or ships it for either case?
> > A) museum may or may not...
> > B) You can make points by also providing that service.
>
> Most museums will not pay for the shipping, unless it's something exotic
> or crucial.
>
> > Often the "impressive deduction" is not real and the cost to remove and
> > move the system is up to the owner. If there is a goal, I'd say make it
> > easiest for the system owner to give or sell to you.
>
> Exactly. See above. Make sure you explain to people wanting to donate
> old hardware that either they won't find anybody who'll take it or the
> expense will outweigh any cash they get back on their tax return.
>
> Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org
>
>
Received on Mon Mar 05 2001 - 01:08:18 GMT