Private ruling: Donation of art
Published: September 2012
Ruling period: Year ended 30 June 2012
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 2011

Ruling: Q1: Is a deduction allowable in respect of the donation of art work by you and your spouse to a museum overseas? | A1: No.

Relevant facts and circumstances: During the income year you and your spouse made a donation of art work to a museum in an overseas country. The art work was valued by the museum.

Relevant legislative provisions: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Division 30 | Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Subdivision 30-B | Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 S ubdivision 30-BA

Reasons for decision: Summary: Your donation of art work was not made to a deductible gift recipient (DGR), so a deduction is not allowable for your gift. | Detailed Reasoning - Detailed reasoning: Division 30 of the ITAA 1997 deals with the deductibility of gifts. To be deductible a gift must: · be made to a deductible gift recipient (DGR) · really be a gift · be a gift of money or a certain type of property, and · comply with any relevant gift conditions. In order for a donor to be able to claim a tax deduction for a gift, the gift must be made to a DGR. The income tax law determines which organisations can receive income tax deductible gifts. They are called DGRs and are either: · endorsed by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or · listed by name in the tax law. Therefore, for a gift to be deductible the recipient of the gift must either be a listed or an endorsed gift recipient. An organisation will be a gift recipient if it is listed in Subdivision 30-B of the ITAA 1997. In your case, the donation of art work was made to the museum overseas, which is not listed as a gift recipient in Subdivision 30-B of the ITAA 1997. Subdivision 30-BA of the ITAA 1997 deals with the endorsement of entities as DGRs. A review of the Tax Office's DGR register shows that the museum in the overseas country is not endorsed as a DGR organisation for Australian taxation purposes. Your donation of art work was not made to a listed or endorsed gift recipient (DGR), so the donation is not a deductible gift under Division 30 of the ITAA 1997.

Please check this edited version to be sure that there are no details remaining that you think may allow you to be identified. If you have any concerns about this ruling you wish to discuss, you will find our contact details in the fact sheet.