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§ 9.13 CHARITY AUCTIONSThere is no charitable deduction for a gift of the right to use property. 338Thus, for example, if someone contributes the opportunity to use his or her vacationproperty for two weeks, there is no charitable deduction equal to the fairrental value of the property. Moreover, the period of time during which the propertyis used by the winning bidder must be considered by the donating individual(s)as personal time for purposes of the rules regarding the deductibility ofbusiness expenses in connection with the property. 339There is no charitable deduction for a gift of services. 340 Thus, for example, if alawyer donates his or her will-drafting services, there is no charitable deductionequal to the hourly rate the lawyer would normally charge for his or her time inpreparing the will. Notwithstanding this rule in the regulations, there would beno deduction in any event, because there is no deduction for gifts of property createdby the donor. 341Further, special rules apply when a business makes a charitable contributionof items from its inventory. 342The substantiation rules apply with respect to gifts of items, with a value of$250 or more, to be auctioned by a charitable organization. 343(c) Charitable Contribution Deductions—Acquisition of Items at AuctionThe law, as sometimes applied in this area, is that for a payment to a charitableorganization to be deductible as a gift, the payor had to have donative intent. 344Were that an absolute requirement, almost no payments made at a charity auctionwould be deductible as charitable gifts. The law usually emphasizes a moremechanical computation: in general, deductible payments to a charity are thosethat exceed the fair market value of anything that the “donor” may receive inreturn, other than items of insignificant value. 345Whether one who acquires an item at a charity auction is entitled to a charitablecontribution deduction is, consequently, problematic. Thus, it was correctto observe that, as to the enactment of the substantiation and quid pro quo rules, 346“it was widely assumed that Congress was after folks who buy stuff at auctionsand then deduct most or even all of the price as a charitable contribution.” 347There are two schools of thought on this point, both of which are faciallyvalid. One is that the auction is the marketplace, so that whatever is paid for anitem at an auction is its fair market value at that time. Pursuant to this view, thetransaction is always a purchase in its entirety; there is no gift element and thusno charitable deduction.338 Reg. § 1.170A-7(a)(1). See § 9.18.339 Rev. Rul. 89-51, 1989-1 C.B. 89.340 Reg. § 1.170A-1(g). See § 9.14.341 IRC §§ 170(e)(1)(A), 1221(3). See § 9.12.342 IRC § 170(e)(3). See § 9.3.343 See § 9.13(d).344 See § 3.1.345 See § 22.2. As discussed in that chapter, the tax regulations introduced a requirement of donative intent in thiscontext (see text accompanied by notes 43, 44).346 See §§ 9.13(d), (e).347 Taxing New Rules for Charitable Giving, 48 Kiplinger’s Pers. Fin. Mag. (no. 5) 140 (July 1994), at 140. 313