No deduction for house contribution
What deduction is available for donation of a lake-front house to the local volunteer fire department when the house has to be burned down in training exercises and the property owners use the newly-cleared land to build a new house? The Tax Court has agreed with the Internal Revenue Service that the landowners received demolition services worth about $10,000 and thus received a quid pro quo that was worth more than the value of the house. Therefore they were not entitled to any deduction at all. The owners had claimed a deduction of $76,000 for the house, representing the difference in the property value before and after the demolition. In the alternative, they claimed a deduction of $235,...
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