Estate Appraiser and Appraisal Requirements for Personal Property
Summary
Full Text:
July 12, 2010
The Honorable Michael Mundaca
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Policy
U.S. Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20220
Dear Assistant Secretary Mundaca:
Enclosed is a letter from my constituent, * * *, regarding valuations used for estate tax purposes. I would appreciate your reviewing the matter and responding to my constituent's concerns. Please reply to * * * directly and send a copy of your response to me.
Thank you for your cooperation and assistance.
- Sincerely,
Harry Reid
United States Senator
Nevada
May 31, 2020 [sic]
The Honorable Senator Harry Reid
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, D.C.
Re: Personal Property Appraisals
Dear Senator Reid:
I understand the Senate is considering legislation to re-impose the federal estate tax.
I'm a Certified Personal Property Appraiser, having satisfied the rigorous experience, training and testing standards of the International Society of Appraisers and the Appraisal Standards Board.
As I entered this career, I was surprised to learn that no state requires licensing or testing of personal property appraisers. The Yellow Pages are full of ads from appraisers with no qualification other than perhaps a business license. The stories are legion of "appraisers" who both appraise a client's property and then offer to buy it at the appraised value; of "appraisers" who don't even bother with the appraisal, but use the offer of one to gain access to an estate's personal property.
As you know, in 2006, the U.S. Congress included in the Pension Protection Act requirements that the Internal Revenue Service adopt more stringent regulations regarding personal property appraisals conducted for charitable donation filings. The IRS complied and those regulations are contained in Title 26 CFR § 170(f)(11). In part, the rules require that charitable donations valued at more than $5000 must be substantiated by a "qualified appraisal." The "qualified appraisal" is in part defined as one conducted by a "qualified appraiser," or an individual who
- "has earned an appraisal designation from a recognized professional appraiser organization or has otherwise met minimum education and experience requirements set forth in regulations prescribed by the Secretary,
- Regularly performs appraisals for which the individual receives compensation, and
- Meets such other requirements as may be prescribed by the Secretary in regulations or other guidance."
- The individual demonstrates verifiable education and experience to valuing the type of property subject to the appraisal, and
- The individual has not been prohibited from practicing before the Internal Revenue Service by the Secretary under section 3(c) of title 31, United States Code, at any time during the 3-year period ending on the date of the appraisal."
I'm writing to suggest that in my opinion, it would be in the public interest to require for estate appraisals the same appraiser and appraisal qualifications as are required for charitable donation appraisers and appraisals. Rather than a state by state approach, a requirement in IRS regulations that appraisals conducted for estate tax purposes meet the same requirements as those performed for charitable donation appraisals would serve the public well, in my view.
Any legislation drafted to re-impose the federal estate tax might present an opportunity to accomplish this consumer protection measure.
Thank you for your attention and all you do for the citizens of Nevada and this country.
Sincerely,* * *
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