KNOWLEDGE IS POWER ... Sir Francis Bacon         

Can I donate my Timeshare to a chartiy and claim a tax deduction?!

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This is an extremely common question in this day and age with the tumbling economy and more and more people finding it extremely difficult to sell their timeshares even at bargain basement prices.  The short answer to this question is "yes but...".  

While it is certainly POSSIBLE to donate your timeshare to charity and get a tax deduction, what most people dont realize is that the charity has to be able to sell your timeshare for a profit in order for the chartiy to actually recieve anything of value as its rare that the charity will actually USE the timeshare themselves.  The profit is in reselling the timeshare and thus you can claim a small deduction if this happens.  

The problem is that if you have been unsuccessful in selling your timeshare, a charity isnt likely to be very successful either, and may flat out turn out down on the spot if they dont feel they can sell your timeshare for at least a resonable amount of money.  

Also its important to note that fees may apply to these donations as even charities cannot transfer timeshare ownerships and complete other closing documents for free.  

Furthermore TUG has two existing documents to provide more details on both the tax deductions applicable to you, and the actual options for donating your timeshare to charity.  These articles are located here:

TUG - Taxes and Timeshares

This article discusses tax deductions as they relate to timeshares, written by our own resident CPA and timeshare Expert DaveM.

and here:

Timeshare Abandonment - When you cant sell your timeshare at any price

This article provides you with options for getting rid of your timeshare when you have been unsuccessfull selling it on the open resale market (including donating it to charity)

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