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Avoiding Malpractice Traps In Noncash Charitable Contributions, Francine J. Lipman

Francine J. Lipman

Substance usually rules over form, but form is a very necessary and critical component of any tax practice. This maxim is especially true when taxpayers claim tax deductions for the FMV of their noncash charitable contributions. As the recent Tax Court decision in Hewitt v. Commissioner, 109 T.C. 258 (1997), and that decision's subsequent affirmation, 166 F.3d 332, 98-2 U.S.T.C. (CCH) P50,880 (4th Cir. 1998), demonstrate, taxpayers must follow very detailed and technical rules to substantiate deductions for charitable contributions of property. The Internal Revenue Service and the courts have confirmed that unless taxpayers (and their tax attorneys) follow the …