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Jim Lee's marathon sketches
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314 posts in this topic

16 hours ago, NelsonAI said:

Yup to Rick.

Usually, in order for anything to be deductible for a charity auction, the amount of the deduction is the excess of the Fair Market Value of the item received.

Each artwork you receive has a FMV.  If Jim is saying 95% is tax deductible, he is actually undervaluing his art.

Let's say on average each piece sells for $6K.  95% of $6K = US$5,700.  That would mean the average FMV of each drawing is $300.  Jim's art would certainly sell for more than $300.  The amount eligible for a tax deduction is $5,700. 

Of course, given tax laws, you must itemize your deductions and qualify.  Check with your tax advisors before you take a deduction.  :)

Kudos to Jim regardless.  :golfclap:

 

Fixed. Jim had been made aware of the mistake. He got the information from that well-known tax firm “eBay”, and has now amended the listing. I had sent him an email, but he had first learned of it beforehand..

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Given Jim's track record, FMV of these 9" x 12" detailed pen and ink drawings should be in the $3K - $5K range depending on the character.  So perhaps 50% of the final bid may be tax deductible.

There seems to be a lot of layers so I would have DC's lawyers determine tax deduction eligibility before making claim on eBay.

For example,  last year, JC Penney Dept store cashier's would ask if you wanted to donate a $1 to charity, ( I forget which organization).  If yes, they would charge your credit card.  JC Penney made the final donation directly to the charitable organization.  JC Penney got the tax deduction.  Each individual did not.

Edited by NelsonAI
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4 hours ago, NelsonAI said:

Given Jim's track record, FMV of these 9" x 12" detailed pen and ink drawings should be in the $3K - $5K range depending on the character.  So perhaps 50% of the final bid may be tax deductible.

There seems to be a lot of layers so I would have DC's lawyers determine tax deduction eligibility before making claim on eBay.

For example,  last year, JC Penney Dept store cashier's would ask if you wanted to donate a $1 to charity, ( I forget which organization).  If yes, they would charge your credit card.  JC Penney made the final donation directly to the charitable organization.  JC Penney got the tax deduction.  Each individual did not.

I’m not so sure that DC/WB’s lawyers should get involved. Isn’t this up to the individual taxpayer to provide proof? 

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I don't think Jim is saying the amount you pay is 95% deductible.  What the listing says is that 95% of the proceeds are going to a charity.  The other 5% presumably goes for some type of overhead expenses.

The amount of a charitable deduction (if any) is a different conversation.  I normally don't provide tax advice, and I'm trying to avoid it here, but I would suggest that anyone should talk to a real tax adviser - before you bid on something - if you're basing your bid with the assumption that what you're paying is deductible. 

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26 minutes ago, rsonenthal said:

What the listing says is that 95% of the proceeds are going to a charity. 

On 4/6/2020 at 7:31 PM, comiconxion said:

From Jim's latest auction for Big Barda "All proceeds to benefit comic shops in need during this crisis. Now 95% tax deductible as funds go immediately to the fund DC has set up at the Book Industry Charitable Foundation. Shipping will be very delayed so please have patience. Will have to wait til shelter in place lifts which could be 30 plus days."

It used to have the verbiage in the bottom quote, which is something completely different

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On 4/6/2020 at 8:15 PM, Rick2you2 said:

I think he is looking for characters to draw who are not common.
With that in mind, I hope someone has the guts to ask for Sugar and Spike, or maybe even Hoppy the Marvel Bunny.

 

On 4/6/2020 at 8:27 PM, Bird said:

I would think Alex Johnson has already asked for sugar and spike! But I really don’t know

I have the courage, but not the money. :)

For S&S to happen, I'd have to win an auction (~$7.5K), specify S&S, and win that auction (~$2.5K assuming moderate interest and no punishment bids). At the low end, that's $10K and might be $15K. Way to rich for my blood - besides, I have a house to remodel!

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On 4/6/2020 at 6:57 PM, Rick2you2 said:

I’m not a tax lawyer, and it has been quite a few years since I took tax law, but that doesn’t sound right to me. You aren’t supposed to get a deduction for the value of something received back. So, if you go to a dinner to raise money for charity, you are theoretically supposed to exclude the value of the meal, with the balance being deductible. The fact that it is a charitable foundation just means that the amount paid over the value received is deductible. Taking what Jim posted at face value would mean the value of his sketches is only 5% of what is paid? I doubt it. If someone has better knowledge on this (like some of our accountants here), I defer to them.

Jim posted later that his misunderstood what he was told. 

The buyer can deduct the amount over the fair market value. Jim can deduct the FMV from his taxes.

The problem for a buyer is that this is an open auction, pretty much be definition, the winning bid is the fair market value for the item. Moreover, given what Jim charges for a straight commission, these may be thought of as being sold for less than FMV.

All in all, don't expect a tax benefit.

Disclaimer: I'm not a tax expert, but I have slept at a Holiday Inn Express.

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24 minutes ago, Bill C said:

I'm blown away at nearly 10K for one of these (Azrael)- although that said I don't follow his art sales.

There was a thread on here last year where people were discussing Jim doing sketches/commissions at some con in Europe, with what was thought by many as insane prices. I wonder how close these ebay sales are to those con prices?

these are smaller then the ones from that con.. those were 15k at 11x17 and you can still order- these are the 9 x12 that I think Moy charges 4-6k depending but you obviously can pick who you want but will have to wait ... and people told me I was crazy when I bought my 2 character 11x17 for 4k lol (shrug)

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9 minutes ago, Unstoppablejayd said:

these are smaller then the ones from that con.. those were 15k at 11x17 and you can still order- these are the 9 x12 that I think Moy charges 4-6k depending but you obviously can pick who you want but will have to wait ... and people told me I was crazy when I bought my 2 character 11x17 for 4k lol (shrug)

So, I'd say that the auction prices are FMV. No deduction for the buyer.

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6 minutes ago, alxjhnsn said:

So, I'd say that the auction prices are FMV. No deduction for the buyer.

Depends how you want to look at it.. the 9x12 start at 4k so I guess your accountant could use that number and go from there? It is art so it is subjective I would think.

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4 hours ago, alxjhnsn said:

Jim posted later that his misunderstood what he was told. 

The buyer can deduct the amount over the fair market value. Jim can deduct the FMV from his taxes.

The problem for a buyer is that this is an open auction, pretty much be definition, the winning bid is the fair market value for the item. Moreover, given what Jim charges for a straight commission, these may be thought of as being sold for less than FMV.

All in all, don't expect a tax benefit.

Disclaimer: I'm not a tax expert, but I have slept at a Holiday Inn Express.

I don’t think Jim gets a deduction, beyond the cost of ink, pencils and paper. 

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12 hours ago, Rick2you2 said:

I don’t think Jim gets a deduction, beyond the cost of ink, pencils and paper. 

Why not. He donated a piece of art that has a FMV. I know that for the charity gala's that my wife has worked, the people that donate to the silent auction deduct the FMV of their donation. Same situation for Jim.

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16 hours ago, Unstoppablejayd said:

Depends how you want to look at it.. the 9x12 start at 4k so I guess your accountant could use that number and go from there? It is art so it is subjective I would think.

If he has a flat rate for 9x12 that are pre-done, I agree, that would be the FMV.

If he does commissions for that rate, that's where the problem occurs. Being able to choose the subject has value. If an auction exceeds his commission rate, clearly you can deduct the amount above that. However, "pre-dones" are typically cheaper (offer less value) than buyer specifies so, perhaps, we should look for an FMV lower than a posted commission rate.

I've never looked at his rates so I don't know which case applies.

 

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1 hour ago, alxjhnsn said:

Why not. He donated a piece of art that has a FMV. I know that for the charity gala's that my wife has worked, the people that donate to the silent auction deduct the FMV of their donation. Same situation for Jim.

Because it was his personal work product. If you volunteer to work at a soup kitchen, you don't get to deduct your "typical" wages for it.

Besides, he is presumably doing it while on the job during the slack periods at his home office (with DC's approval), so time spent is not his own.

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3 hours ago, Rick2you2 said:

Because it was his personal work product. If you volunteer to work at a soup kitchen, you don't get to deduct your "typical" wages for it.

Besides, he is presumably doing it while on the job during the slack periods at his home office (with DC's approval), so time spent is not his own.

Maybe. That's why tax accountants and tax lawyers are well paid. If I'm right, Jim is looking at a circa $300K tax deduction. He should check it out. :)

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My guess is that he's got a good accountant and they've told him that an artist can't get a charitable deduction for a contribution of their own work. 

It may just be that Jim is a really talented and nice guy who is trying to do something wonderful for a bunch of stores that played a small but critical role in building the industry that he loves.  In other words, maybe he's doing it without any expectation of reward; he's doing it because they need help, and he is in a position to do so. 

Good on Jim.

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