- 8 -
charitable contribution for this amount during 1998. We agree
with respondent. We hold petitioner may claim only $12,713.28 as
a charitable contribution deduction on his 1998 tax return.
Petitioner may donate to AHERF as per section
170(b)(1)(A)(iii). Section 170(c) defines a charitable deduction
as a “contribution or gift to or for the use of * * * (2) a
corporation, trust, or community chest, fund, or foundation”.
Petitioner misunderstands the nature of the installment land
contract. Under this contract, petitioner gained title to the
residence from Jellico only upon completion of all payments.
Therefore, petitioner did not have title at the time of the
donation. Petitioner knew of his lack of title when he offered
the donation, as his donation offered only his equity. Equity is
the amount of principal paid into ownership interests. Schuneman
v. United States, 783 F.2d 694, 701 n.8 (7th Cir. 1986).
We need not decide the complicated issue of whether
improvements to the property constituted payment. Petitioner
merely claimed that he made improvements and then added the
claimed value of these improvements to his deduction. However,
petitioner has offered no proof substantiating these improvements
or their value. Having failed to establish any proof of the
claimed value, we hold petitioner is not entitled to any
deduction for improvements made to the home.
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011