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Equipment appraisals for charitable donation, prepared in accordance with IRS Form 8283 qualified appraisal requirements. AppraiseItNow provides USPAP-compliant fair market value reports that protect your deduction and satisfy IRS documentation requirements.
IRS Form 8283 QualifiedI recommend AppraiseItNow Inc. highly… I would use them again
DEFENSIBLE, USPAP-COMPLIANT MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT APPRAISAL REPORTS — QUALIFIED FOR THE IRS, RECEIVING CHARITIES, AND TAX PREPARERS.
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Owner & CEO
Joe founded AppraiseItNow to make a certified, USPAP-compliant appraisal as simple to order as anything else online. A former Bain & Company strategy consultant, Joe leads the entire team and specializes in strategy, growth, and the firm's tech capabilities.
Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
Third-generation auctioneer and CAGA Certified Appraiser with more than 20 years valuing machinery, equipment, vehicles, business assets, and estates for banks, attorneys, and trustees across the Carolinas.
Vehicle Appraiser
CAGA Certified Appraiser since 2014, covering vehicles, boats, equipment, fine art, and collectibles. A classic-car restoration background informs her vehicle work, with reports prepared for insurance, divorce, and charitable contributions.
Client Success Manager
Manages each engagement from the first enquiry to the delivered report, and keeps you posted at every step along the way.
Certified Appraisers Guild of AmericaCertified Appraiser
The Appraisal FoundationAuthorized by Congress as the source of appraisal standardsIRS Form 8283
Once the deduction you claim for donated equipment passes $5,000, the IRS requires a qualified appraisal and Section B of Form 8283. We prepare the appraisal and complete the appraiser's part of the form.
A qualified appraisal is required for items reportable in Section B and in certain cases must be attached.
Two machines of the same model rarely carry the same value. We appraise the specific unit donated, at its hours, its condition, and its configuration, and we support the conclusion with what comparable used equipment has sold for through dealers and at auction, which is the strongest evidence of fair market value a donation file can carry.
Equipment we value
Our equipment appraisal practice covers the machinery that businesses and individuals give to schools, vocational programs, and other qualified organizations:
Resale depth
A lathe, a forklift, or a standard packaging line has buyers in every region. A machine built around one product, one die, or one building's layout has very few, and that thin market sets its value no matter how capable the equipment is. We state which of the two the donated asset is and name the buyers behind the conclusion.
On the nameplate
Value follows the individual unit, so the appraisal records it:
Obsolescence
Equipment loses value for reasons that have nothing to do with wear: a newer control generation, a thinning supply of parts, or a downturn in the industry that used to buy it. We treat functional and economic obsolescence separately from physical condition and show what each one took off the number.
The IRS treats an appraisal as qualified only when the person who prepared it has verifiable education and experience in the property being valued, and signs a declaration of independence and competency on the form. For a plant asset, that means an appraiser whose working discipline is machinery and equipment.
Machinery credentials
Our appraisers hold credentials with organizations such as the ASA, NEBB (CMEA), and CAGA, and the appraiser who signs a donated machine's value works in industrial and commercial assets rather than general personal property. The report carries those qualifications, the methodology applied, and the effective date of value.
Estimates that fail
A plant manager's number or a supplier's verbal quote can be close to the mark and still fail the requirement, because the value has to come from an independent appraiser who regularly values this class of property. Where it does not, the IRS can set the reported figure aside on that ground alone.
Most equipment donations are valued from photographs, serial plates, meter readings, and the maintenance records the owner already keeps. When a company gives away a production line or clears a facility, we inventory it onsite and value each asset on its own line.
One machine or many
A single CNC mill given to a technical college and a manufacturer donating a plant floor are the same work at different scale. Machines worth less than $5,000 apiece can still land in Section B, because a group of similar items claimed together is tested against the Form 8283 threshold the same way one asset is, which catches donors giving away a fleet of forklifts or a shop of hand tools.
When to schedule
Equipment gifts cluster at year end, while the asset is still running and still earning. Because the qualified appraisal has to fall inside the IRS dating window around the contribution, we work back from the day the machine leaves your floor. Tell us the filing deadline you are working to and we confirm up front whether we can meet it.
The receiving charity
A charity that accepts equipment records it at fair market value on the contribution date for its own financial reporting, so its accountants and auditors end up reading the number your deduction rests on. A value they can trace to market evidence is one they can acknowledge on their side of the form without hesitation.
What charitable donation clients say we are known for
Across 12 published charitable donation appraisal reviews, every one from a client who paid AppraiseItNow for an appraisal, the three things they raise most often are that they would hire us again, how quickly we answer, and our taking on items other appraisers turned down.
I recommend AppraiseItNow Inc. highly. I needed an appraisal of fair market value for geologic laboratory equipment for charitable donations to three universities. The unique items and limited secondary market complicated the valuation. They provided a sound, verifiable estimate and the 8283 forms that I was able to use in my tax filings. I would use them again.
Lab Equipment Appraisal for Charitable Donation
I needed an IRS-qualified appraisal for an unusual and costly piece of medical equipment. AppraiseItNow was able to provide me exactly what I needed on a timely basis. The personnel at the company are very friendly and helpful. I would definitely use them again.
Medical Equipment Appraisal for Charitable Donation
Fantastic Experience with AppraiseItNow Inc.! I couldn’t be happier with the service I received from AppraiseItNow Inc. They were professional, timely, and incredibly helpful throughout the entire process. Joe, in particular, was an absolute delight to work with—knowledgeable, friendly, and attentive to every detail. I highly recommend AppraiseItNow Inc. to anyone in need of appraisal services. Five stars all the way!
Machinery & Equipment Appraisal for Charitable Donation
They did an appraisal of medical equipment for donation. They did it quickly, and I received a blank form 8283 signed by the appraiser. It was what I needed. The price was higher than I wanted to spend on an appraisal, but a lot lower than other appraisers. AppraiseItNow was very responsive and communicative, and the other appraisers were not. I would use them again.
Medical Equipment Appraisal for Charitable Donation
I run small non-profit.... we receive an eclectic assortment of materials, tools and similar equipment. Finding appraisers in Kentucky has been challenging, and I'm glad I found AppraiseItNow. They were responsive to questions, the process was simple, and they produced a report in a timely manner - I will use AppraiseItNow again in the future!
Machinery & Equipment Appraisal for Charitable Donation
We were very satisfied with the results - fast and efficient communication, understanding our company's needs, on-time delivery of the report, as well as reasonable price point. Highly recommend.
Machinery & Equipment Appraisal for Charitable Donation
At fair market value in its current condition, supported by comparable sales, depreciated replacement cost, or expert opinion under IRS Publication 561. When replacement cost is used, the appraiser must show the estimated replacement cost new, the deductions for physical condition and obsolescence, and how the result relates to the concluded value.
No. The deduction rests on what the machinery would sell for on the open market, and large gaps between claimed value and accounting figures draw examination. Descriptions matter too: a lump-sum entry for "shop equipment" fails the requirement to describe each significant asset with condition, acquisition date, basis, and valuation method.
Yes. Equipment that would produce ordinary income or short-term gain if sold, such as items held under a year or property produced for sale, is deductible only at fair market value minus that built-in gain. A higher appraisal does not raise the ceiling, which surprises businesses donating recently acquired machines.
Against used-vehicle pricing guides: the IRS accepts a value no higher than a private-party sale listing for a similar vehicle in similar condition, and expressly rejects dealer retail as the benchmark. Donors who take high-end guide values without condition adjustments are the ones most often challenged.