8062 / What exemption from the appraisal requirements exists for charitable gifts of publicly traded securities with a value in excess of $5,000?
The regulations state that taxpayers need not obtain a qualified appraisal of securities whose claimed value exceeds $5,000 if the donated property meets the definition of “publicly traded securities.” Publicly traded securities are those (1) listed on a stock exchange in which quotations are published on a daily basis or (2) regularly traded in a national or regional over-the-counter market for which published quotations are available.1
Securities that do not meet the above requirements may still be considered publicly traded securities if they meet the following five requirements:
(1) the issue is regularly traded during the computational period in a market that is reflected by the existence of an interdealer quotation system for the issue;
(2) the issuer or its agent computes the issue’s average trading price for the computational period;
(3) the average price and total volume of the issue during the computational period are published in a newspaper of general circulation throughout the U.S. not later than the last day of the month following the end of the calendar quarter in which the computational period ends;
(4) the issuer or its agent keeps books and records that list for each transaction during the computational period involving each issue covered by this procedure the date of the settlement of the transaction, the name and address of the broker or dealer making the market in which the transaction occurred, and the trading price and volume; and
(5) the issuer or agent permits the IRS to review the books and records.2
The “computational period” is weekly during October through December and monthly during January through September. Taxpayers who are exempted from obtaining a qualified appraisal because the securities meet these five requirements must attach a partially completed appraisal summary (section B of Form 8283) to the appropriate returns. The summary must contain the information required by parts I and II of the Form.3