I've decided to end a corporation. All assets are depreciated to zero but still have some value which I need to pay a capital gains tax to transfer them to my private ownership. So I need a fair value estimate for the following, something like I'd get at Ebay.
1 - Trimble 4700 GPS receiver with internal radio (1999)
1 – Trimble TSC1 surveyor controller (1999)
1 – Trimble Compact L1/L2 GPS antenna w/gp (1994)
1 – Trimble Zephyr geodetic GPS antenna (2004)
1 – Trimble Trimtalk IIe base radio (1999)
So what's it all worth AND it's NOT for sale. What's a defensible fair value?
1 - Trimble 4700 GPS receiver with internal radio (1999) $800
1 – Trimble TSC1 surveyor controller (1999) $200
1 – Trimble Compact L1/L2 GPS antenna w/gp (1994) $150
1 – Trimble Zephyr geodetic GPS antenna (2004) $800
1 – Trimble Trimtalk IIe base radio (1999) $500
Based upon my eBay experience. (FYI, I just bought another CL1/L2 w/GP for $109 shipped, but I haven't tested it yet.)
Also on the asset schedule:
1 - HP 600 Design Jet Plotter (36" wide) (199?) still works $100 maybe?
I have great respect for Jim Frame but the IRS is not going to except his values from an internet board. You need to get an equipment dealer on their letterhead give you the value of the equipment for the IRS.
Yeah, I though about going to a dealer. My CPA just told me to get him a number, but if it's challenged probably best to have a dealer do the appraisal. Just part of the fun dealing with a corporate closing.
So I get taxed on the salvage value, then it goes back on a depreciation schedule after I pay the tax. Worthless paperwork, one of the joys of living in America I suppose. So where's the profit and real contribution to GDP. Can we prosper doing each others paperwork? Non billable hours! At least I have something to do.
> Yeah, I though about going to a dealer. My CPA just told me to get him a number, but if it's challenged probably best to have a dealer do the appraisal.
While I wouldn't accept casual numbers provided by a colleague, I can tell you where to find supportable numbers: eBay. There's enough of this equipment being sold that it wouldn't take you long to document actual auction closing prices to bolster your claimed figures.
I'd be interested to learn what a dealer says, because he'll be in an odd position: quote too high in order to make his products look like they hold value well, or quote too low in order to lowball a buyback. Quoting in between -- perhaps where the real value lies -- wouldn't seem to benefit him either way.
> I've decided to end a corporation. All assets are depreciated to zero but still have some value which I need to pay a capital gains tax to transfer them to my private ownership.
Instead of dealing with capital gains, donate the equipment to the local boy scout troop in which you lease the equipment back, not for money but for service, that service being your time every 3 months teaching surveying and your responsibility also includes the care, storage and transportation of the equipment that you charge back to the troop, but instead write-off as a charitable donations
Dealers aren't in the appraising business unless they purchase it from you but usually that would be a trade in which doesn't necessarily reflect the true value on the open used equipment market.
It only really matters if you get audited and if the IRS would spend a lot of time challenging an $800 value for a piece of equipment that only a few years ago cost $20,000 new.
Creative but water I don't want to tread! No need to draw attention from the IRS, got enough problems without that monkey on my back!
Okay then, FMV is near the $2,500 range / round it up to $3k then IRS wouldn't come knocking - Really though, what's the tax liability between the two ~ about $175
Call it over & done with at $3k
After all the time & effort spend debating the net difference of $175 real money,
you could have done a house stake out for $500
I've actually sent a higher value estimate to my CPA. The corp is mostly inactive so eliminating it will save me the cost of doing annual tax returns. Looking back I should have never put any assets into it. I have an LLC that I use now and it owns absolutely no assets, just an operating entity. It's back to just a single owner (me) and as such doesn't need to file its own tax return. Trying to make life simple as possible these days.
Ain't any houses to stake around here and in this rural area no one would pay you $500 to do it, trust me! So I don't do it.
Do an ended auctions search on ebay for the specific items you list, and print the results. I do it all the time for insured value on my horns, should give you a nice real world number.