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Laptops for Health |
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Laptops for Health |
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Determining Fair Market Values for Laptops
It is the responsibility of the donor to decide the fair market value that he/she will use for tax purposes. A "Fair Market Value" (or FMV) is by one definition, The amount that a willing buyer would pay to a willing seller to purchase certain property at a particular point in time. That definition suggests a possible source for determining the FMV of your laptop, i.e. an auction site, like eBay, where thousands of willing buyers and sellers meet everyday. One way to approximate a FMV using eBay would be as follows:
1) Use the search engine to find a laptop that matches the specifications of your laptop (be as specific as possible)
2) In the left hand margin options select to search "Completed Listings"
3) Sort these listings by price and examine the values of all of the GREEN figures that represent completed sales.
4) Find three or four items that match the specifications and condition of your laptop.
5) Take the average of these values to determine the FMV for your laptop.
6) Document the above process carefully if you want to use it as justification for declaring a FMV for tax purposes.
Another approach to determining the FMV for a laptop is to use a "Blue Book" source similar to the one for used cars. FMVs for laptops are available online (for a fee of $3.99) at Orion Blue Book. Here are some illustrative approximate FMVs from Orion for several popular laptops.
Computer Specifications for a Laptop in Mint or Near Mint Condition
( June '05)ThinkPad T30 P4 1.8 256MB, 40 GB ATAHD, 14.1" SXGA+ TFT, 8X CDRW, 8XX DVD, 56K $900 ThinkPadT30 P4 1.6 256MB, 20 GB ATAHD, 14.1" XGA TFT, 8XX DVD, 56K16MB AGP $600 ThinkPadT23 PIII 1.13 128MB, 48 GB ATAHD, 14.1" SXGA TFT, 8XX DVD, 56KENET $450 Inspiron 700M 512MB/1 MB, 12.1" WXGA TFT, 40 GB ATAHD, 8xx DVD, 56K Item NOTEBK $950 Latitude C640 256MB, 20 GBHD, 14.1" SXGA+ TFT, 24X CD-ROM, 56K Item NOTEBK $450 Note: FMVs are updated monthly by Orion. You cannot use a FMV displayed on Laptops For Health as your official FMV. You must use an independent assessment process.
