Charitable deduction for time share?

[kpangelinan]

Can one claim a charitable deduction for a time-share if it's donated to a non-profit?

Thanks,

[Lion]

Entire interest

You can deduct only your cost. So, if you give away your entire interest in a time share, you can use the lower of your cost basis or FMV. If you just loan out the use of it for a week but retain the time share, you haven't given anything away with no strings attached. If you had to pay extra to allow someone to use your week, paid for cleaning or something out of pocket, you can deduct your excess out of pocket costs. If you pay the same annual fee whether or not you use the unit, you have no incremental cost to deduct. But, you're building up treasure in heaven!

[gkaiseril]

Generally, only a contribution of an entire interest in property to a qualified organization is deductible. When a taxpayer donates the right to use property, he is retaining ownership and control of the property. Because the donation is a contribution of less than the entire interest in that property, it is not deductible.

See IRS Pub 526, IRS Code 170(f)(2)(A) & (B), 170(f)(3)(A) , and Rev Rul 89-51.