Fair market value (FMV) refers to the price an item would sell for in the open market. When bidding on items for a charitable auction, people may pay an amount above the fair market value for an item to support your cause. Only the amount paid above FMV is considered tax-deductible.
Setting up the FMV for your auction items in your MemberHub experience is an extra step you’ll need to take either before or during your auction, but it can help you save time in the long run. This step will prevent you from having to issue tax receipts to winners. All winners will receive an email receipt at the close of the auction. If you’ve already designated the FMV for each item, this email will contain all the information needed to act as a tax receipt. In other words, there will be no further work for you!
How to set up FMV for your auction items:
- Go to My experiences in the left menu.
- If you have chosen a list view, click on the title of your experience. If you have chosen a grid view, click on the experience image.
- Click Edit experience*.
- Click on the Auction section in the timeline at the top.
- Click EDIT on an existing auction item, or create a new one if you’re adding the FMV to a new auction item.
- Check the box under Tax receipt options.
- Enter the FMV amount.
- Click SAVE to apply your changes.
*Note: Terminology on these buttons may be different according to the terminology that you’ve chosen for your experience.