Fair Market Value

Members of the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants are answering readers' tax questions through April 15.Q. Last year I donated a car to charity. How do I claim that on my 1040 form?A. Generally, you may claim a deduction for the car's fair market value on Line 16 of Schedule A. You should have a receipt from the organization to which the car was donated and how it was valued (appraisal or NADA book). If the value is greater than $500, you are also required to complete Form 8283, and if the value is greater than $5,000, you are required to attach an appraisal as substantiation for the fair market value.

THE INTERNAL Revenue Service is throwing cold water on the hottest mortgage product of 1997: the so-called "125 percent loan-to-value" (125 LTV) financing that provides homeowners with more cash than their homes are worth.In its first public comments directed at the "125 LTV" loan boom, the IRS this month warned homeowners that deducting mortgage interest on loan amounts exceeding the fair market value of their homes is prohibited. In an interview, Assistant IRS Commissioner for Examinations Thomas G. Smith urged homeowners "to exercise caution" when they load debt on their homes far beyond market value.

Five generations of Merrymans have tilled the land in the village of Trenton, growing corn and raising cattle while rural Baltimore County turned into suburbia. And John Merryman would like to ensure that the farm his ancestors started in 1881 remains intact, safe from the onslaught of split-levels.But he and many other farmers in Maryland have been unable to permanently protect their land through the state's agricultural land preservation program.Meanwhile, the state has paid millions to wealthy landowners, including a Worthington Valley fox-hunting club, to prevent them from developing their properties.

Members of the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants are answering readers' tax questions through Friday.Q: I had a 401(k) plan with my employer in which I made investments in various areas, including company stock. At the termination of my employment, I paid income tax on the fair market value of the company stock. What is my basis of the company stock I now hold? Is it the cost contribution I've made in all the various investments or the fair market value of the company stock determination?

Q. My wife and myself along with my in-laws were the grantees on a real estate deed representing the property where my wife and I live. Recently my in-laws transferred their portion of the property to us.This transfer was not intended as a gift, and I need to know how to help them avoid paying a gift tax.The background here is that my in-laws were selected to have an opportunity to purchase a home in this subdivision, and my wife and I became "riders" on...

WASHINGTON -- In a ruling that will mean steep duties on portable Japanese word processors, the International Trade Commission determined yesterday that their sale in the United States at below fair market value had hurt U.S. producers.As a result of yesterday's decision, the Commerce Department will automatically assess anti-dumping duties of 58.71 percent on imports of the processors.The department had determined that the processors were being dumped in the U.S. market, or sold below fair market value.