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Personal property appraisals for charitable donation, prepared in accordance with IRS Form 8283 qualified appraisal requirements. AppraiseItNow provides USPAP-compliant fair market value reports covering collectibles, jewelry, antiques, and household contents to protect your deduction at tax time.
IRS Form 8283 QualifiedTheir customer service is OUTSTANDING… I’d give 10 if possible!
DEFENSIBLE, USPAP-COMPLIANT PERSONAL PROPERTY APPRAISAL REPORTS — QUALIFIED FOR THE IRS, RECEIVING CHARITIES, AND TAX PREPARERS.
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Owner & CEO
Joe founded AppraiseItNow to make a certified, USPAP-compliant appraisal as simple to order as anything else online. A former Bain & Company strategy consultant, Joe leads the entire team and specializes in strategy, growth, and the firm's tech capabilities.
Personal Property Appraiser
ISA Accredited Member with 30 years in the trade, from running estate sales and an auction gallery to appraising luxury apparel, furniture, artwork, antiques, and business assets, primarily for IRS tax filings.
Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
Third-generation auctioneer and CAGA Certified Appraiser with more than 20 years valuing machinery, equipment, vehicles, business assets, and estates for banks, attorneys, and trustees across the Carolinas.
Personal Property Appraiser
ISA Accredited Member specializing in Asian art, with a Master's from SOAS and a Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art. Ashley chairs the ISA's Antiques, Furnishings, and Decorative Arts committee and appraises for charitable donation, insurance, and equitable distribution.
Client Success Manager
Manages each engagement from the first enquiry to the delivered report, and keeps you posted at every step along the way.
International Society of AppraisersAccredited Member
Certified Appraisers Guild of AmericaCertified Appraiser
The Appraisal FoundationAuthorized by Congress as the source of appraisal standardsIRS Form 8283
Once the deduction you claim for donated personal property passes $5,000, the IRS requires a qualified appraisal and Section B of Form 8283. We prepare the appraisal and complete the appraiser's part of the form.
A qualified appraisal is required for items reportable in Section B and in certain cases must be attached.
A household donation is rarely one valuation. The threshold that calls for a qualified appraisal is applied to each group of similar items given away during the year, added together across every charity that received them, so we sort the contents into groups first and value each group against the market that actually trades it.
Where the value sits
Most of a claimed household deduction sits in a handful of categories, and those are the ones worth a qualified appraisal:
Sets stay whole
Similar items are aggregated: a service of sterling flatware, a run of first editions, or a coin collection counts as one group even when the pieces go to two charities or leave the house on separate days. We identify the groups before valuing anything, because the grouping decides how many appraisals the donation actually needs.
The donee's use
A museum that accessions the paintings and sends the dining suite to its resale shop has put two parts of the same donation to two different uses, and the measure of each part follows its own use. We record what the charity says it will do with each group, in writing, next to the value we conclude for it.
Triage
An estate clearance produces far more property than a qualified appraisal needs to cover. We tell you which groups carry enough value to justify a report and which are better itemized on your own donation list, so the engagement covers the property that drives the deduction and nothing else.
Fair market value is the price a willing buyer and a willing seller would agree on with both knowing the relevant facts, and for used personal property that price lives in the secondary market rather than a retail aisle. IRS Publication 561 lets an appraiser reach it through comparable sales, expert opinion, or replacement cost, and the report states which one carried each group and why.
The same market
For antiques, collections, and objects with no active retail market, the strongest support is what comparable pieces have brought at auction, through dealers, and in completed resale listings, adjusted for condition, rarity, and completeness. Those comparables are named in the report rather than standing silently behind a conclusion.
When comparables run out
Publication 561 allows the cost of buying or making similar property as support when replacement cost bears a reasonable relationship to fair market value: our appraiser estimates replacement cost new, then subtracts for condition, wear, and obsolescence. An undepreciated replacement figure is not fair market value and we do not present it as one.
What we set aside
What a piece cost, what it is scheduled for on a homeowner's policy, and what a similar one is listed at online are three different numbers, and none of them is fair market value. Claimed values are most often challenged when they trace back to one of those, so we value the property as of the contribution date from evidence of what buyers paid.
Most donations are appraised from photographs, marks, measurements, and an inventory the family or the charity already keeps. A whole estate clearance, a large collection, or property that has to be handled in person is where an onsite visit earns its place, and we confirm which your donation needs before the engagement is quoted.
Paperwork that exists
The engagement moves faster when the documentation travels with the property:
In the report
Every group carries its own description, condition, methodology, comparable market data, and stated fair market value, with the contribution date and our appraiser's credentials and identifying number so Section B can be completed and signed.
Who does the work
A qualified appraisal turns on demonstrated experience with the specific property being valued, so the jewelry in a donation and the Georgian silver in the same donation are valued by our appraisers who work in those markets. Our appraisers hold credentials with organizations such as the ISA, ASA, AAA, CAGA, and GIA, and appraise to USPAP.
What charitable donation clients say we are known for
Across 11 published charitable donation appraisal reviews, every one from a client who paid AppraiseItNow for an appraisal, the three things they raise most often are that they would hire us again, how much research is visible in the report, and our taking on items other appraisers turned down.
AppraiseItNow Inc. is the best company I was lucky to find by accident. I was looking for someone to appraise cabinets for a donation to charity. I asked for multiple referrals, called multiple appraisal services, etc., and no one could help me. I found AppraiseItNow and from the moment I started working with them, they were wonderful! Joe guided me on what I needed to send him, what needed to be done and stayed in touch with me the entire time. Their customer service is OUTSTANDING and a welcome surprise in today’s world where good customer service is an anomaly! They returned an appraisal in a timely manner, it was clear, concise, cost-effective and exactly what I needed. They followed up with me multiple times to ensure that I received it and everything was OK. My CPA is also thrilled to have them as an accredited appraisal service he can use for other clients. I rarely leave reviews, but I could not pass giving them 5 stars and I’d give 10 if possible! THANK YOU JOE AND ALL AT APPRAISEITNOW!!👊🏼
Personal Property Appraisal for Charitable Donation
I asked AppraiseItNow to value a piece of sports memorabilia for purposes of a charitable donation. The item is rarely sold. Their research unearthed an important recent sale of a similar item, which I had not found previously, and which the first appraiser I used had not found either. AppraiseItNow was a good deal more expensive than the first service, but they crafted a detailed report in which I have much more confidence. They also helped me make sure the correct tax forms are used. Thank you!
Sports Memorabilia Appraisal for Charitable Donation
I’d have given them 10 stars if it were possible. After weeks of frustration awaiting four different appraisers to return my calls I stumbled across AppraiseItNow. They were quick to reply, incredibly helpful, knowledgeable, professional and managed to make it fairly simple. I highly recommend them!
Furniture Appraisal for Charitable Donation
The AppraiseItNow team was great to work with. We hired them to appraise some precious metals for a charitable donation, and they were very helpful throughout the process. They provided clear instructions on how to submit photos and item descriptions, and delivered the appraisal and IRS forms within just a few days. Thank you so much, highly recommended!
Bullion Appraisal for Charitable Donation
By far the best of the best when it comes to an appraisal company. Truly professional owner who provides a detailed appraisal in an efficient and better than expected delivery time. A must GO TO Company. Would recommend to anyone.
Clothing Appraisal for Charitable Donation
It is with great pleasure that I give the highest score for their work. I needed antique book appraisals for my beloved but sadly departed wife's antique book collection she wanted to donate to the Remnant Trust. It was a true pleasure to work with this group.
Memorabilia & Collectibles Appraisal for Charitable Donation
It scales with value: a contemporaneous written acknowledgment from the charity at $250 or more, Form 8283 once noncash deductions exceed $500, and a qualified appraisal for property over $5,000, with publicly traded securities excepted. IRS Publication 561 treats those three documents as the core substantiation package, and each tier's paperwork must be right.
Yes. Tangible personal property put to a use unrelated to the charity's exempt purpose can limit the deduction to your basis rather than fair market value, so the donee's intended use is a central fact we confirm and document alongside the valuation itself.
Through prices buyers actually pay in thrift, consignment, and completed resale markets, adjusted for condition. Items generally must be in good used condition or better to be deductible at all, with a narrow exception for a single item claimed over $500 that is backed by a qualified appraisal.
Because the deduction is often capped at the charity's gross sale proceeds rather than the appraised figure, and when fair market value does apply it comes from private-party guide pricing, not dealer retail. Overstated vehicle values are among the most common donation disputes the IRS pursues.