Believe it or not….after handling thousands of mounts, curios, awards and trophy room decor. After trying every concept known to man…The Auction Method is truly the ONLY way to sell a collection in any kind of acceptable time frame.
Realistically, as hunters, you don’t want my trophies and I don’t want yours. HOWEVER! there is a market of decorators, designers, collectors, replacement buyers, restaurants, resellers, lodge builders, ranchers and just interested folks that will assemble, bid and buy in a specified time frame.
There is always the question; “Can I donate these and get an advantage.” The IRS is very specific. You can only take the taxidermy cost; no other associated expenses such as travel, trophy fee, shipping etc. And it must be to an entity that can accept such a gift.
Rules
From IRS Publication 526 – irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p526.pdf, “Charitable Contributions”: Taxidermy Property If you donate taxidermy property to a qualified organization, your deduction is limited to your basis in the property or its fair market value, whichever is less. This applies if you prepared, stuffed, or mounted the property or paid/incurred the cost of preparing, stuffing, or mounting the property. Your basis for this purpose includes only the cost of preparing, stuffing, and mounting the property. Your basis does not include transportation or travel costs. It also does not include the direct or indirect costs for hunting or killing an animal, such as equipment costs. In addition, it does not include the value of your time. Taxidermy property means any work of art that:
- Is the reproduction or preservation of an animal, in whole or in part, Is prepared, stuffed, or mounted to recreate one or more characteristics of the animal, and Contains a part of the body of the dead animal
Bottom Line
This may sound trivial, but the rules around receiving, receipting, and accounting for non-cash contributions can be complicated!! Always consult with a tax professional if you are considering activity of this kind. He or she can walk you through the regulations and help you determine the course of action that is most beneficial to you — and help ensure you’re complying with the spirit and the letter of the law.
Disposition Options for your collection:
- We will buy outright or guarantee a minimum recovery plus you share in additional sales proceeds.
- We will auction on your behalf, at our facility or an online event at your location. The latter is certainly a serious consideration in complying with state and federal law as well as avoiding the cost of shipping and handling.
- We will help you with a self produced auction where you take pictures, do the write up and supervise the buyers picking up the purchases.
Maybe hard to accept: YOUR COLLECTION WILL BE SOLD AT AUCTION BY YOU OR THE NEXT OWNER. It truly is the only way to get it done.