So what is fair market value (FMV)? According to the IRS, it’s the price that property would sell for on the open market. This is the price that would be agreed on between a willing buyer and a willing seller. Neither would be required to act, and both would have reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts.
This is the standard the IRS uses to determine if an item sold or donated by you is valued correctly for income tax purposes. It is also a definition that is so broad that it is wide open to interpretation.
Understand when FMV is used
Fair market value is used whenever an item is bought, sold or donated and has tax consequences. The most common examples are: [Read more…] about Fair market value (FMV): What is it and how to defend it