Schedule M (Form 990) 2019
Page 3
General Instructions
Section references are to the Internal
Revenue Code unless otherwise noted.
Future developments. For the latest
information about developments related
to Schedule M (Form 990), such as
legislation enacted after the schedule
and its instructions were published, go
to www.irs.gov/Form990.
Note: Terms in bold are defined in the
Glossary of the Instructions for Form
990.
Purpose of Schedule
Schedule M (Form 990) is used by an
organization that files Form 990 to report
the types of noncash contributions
received during the year by the
organization and certain information
regarding such contributions. The
schedule requires reporting of the
quantity and the reported financial
statement amount of noncash
contributions received by type of
property. Report noncash donated items
even if sold immediately after received.
Don’t report noncash contributions
received by the organization in a prior
year. Don’t report donations of services
or the donated use of facilities,
equipment, or materials donated.
Who Must File
An organization that answered “Yes” to
Form 990, Part IV, lines 29 or 30, must
complete Schedule M (Form 990) and
attach it to Form 990. This means an
organization that reported more than
$25,000 of aggregate noncash
contributions on Form 990, Part VIII,
line 1g, or that during the year received
contributions of art, historical
treasures, or other similar assets, or
qualified conservation contributions,
regardless of whether it reported any
revenues for such contributions in Part
VIII.
If an organization isn’t required to file
Form 990 but chooses to do so, it must
file a complete return and provide all of
the information requested, including the
required schedules.
Specific Instructions
Part I. Types of Property
Column (a). Check the box if during the
year the organization received any
contributions of the property type
identified.
Column (b). For each type of property
received during the year, enter the
number of contributions or the number
of items contributed, determined in
accordance with the organization’s
recordkeeping practices. Explain in Part
II of this schedule whether the
organization is reporting the number of
contributions or the number of items
received, or a combination of both
methods. As described below, for
contributions of securities, such as
publicly traded stock, treat each
separate gift (rather than each share
received) as an item for this purpose.
Organizations that receive
contributions of books, publications,
clothing, and household goods aren’t
required to complete column (b) for
those items reported on lines 4 and 5.
Columns (c)–(d). In column (c), enter the
revenues reported on Form 990, Part
VIII, line 1g, for the appropriate property
type. If none were reported, enter “0.”
In column (d), describe the method
used to determine the amount reported
on Form 990, Part VIII, line 1g (for
example, cost or selling price of the
donated property, sale of comparable
properties, replacement cost, opinions of
experts, etc.). See Pub. 561, Determining
the Value of Donated Property, for more
information.
Example 1. A used car in poor
condition is donated to a local high
school for use by students studying car
repair. A used car guide shows the
dealer retail value for this type of car in
poor condition is $1,600. However, the
guide shows the price for a private party
sale of the car is only $750. The fair
market value of the car is considered to
be $750, which is the amount the
organization reported on Form 990, Part
VIII, line 1g. In column (c), the
organization should enter $750. In
column (d), the organization should enter
“sale of comparable properties and/or
opinion of expert” as the method used to
determine fair market value.
Example 2. An organization primarily
receives bulk donations of clothing,
household goods, and other similar
items, intended for resale. Under its
permitted financial reporting practices, it
doesn’t recognize or record revenue at
the time of receipt of the contribution,
but instead records such items in
inventory and reports contribution
revenues at the time of sale based on
prior inventory turnover experience. In
column (c), the organization can enter
the amount that represents the total
estimated amount of annual sales
revenue for each type of property
received under its permitted financial
reporting method, and in column (d),
enter “resale value or annual sales
revenue” as the method of determining
revenue.
Museums and other organizations that
don’t report contributions of art,
historical treasures, and other similar
items as revenue, as permitted under
generally accepted accounting
principles, enter “0” in column (c) and
leave column (d) blank. The organization
can explain in Part II that a zero amount
was reported on Form 990, Part VIII, line
1g, because the museum did not
capitalize its collections, as allowed
under Financial Accounting Standards
Board Accounting Standards
Codification 958-360-25 (ASC
958-360-25) (formerly SFAS 116).
An organization that received qualified
conservation contributions or
conservation easements must report
column (c) revenue consistent with how
it reports revenue from such
contributions in its books, records, and
financial statements. The organization
must also report revenue from such
qualified conservation contributions and
conservation easements consistently
with how it reports such revenue in Form
990, Part VIII.
Line 1. Works of art include paintings,
sculptures, prints, drawings, ceramics,
antiques, decorative arts, textiles,
carpets, silver, photography, film, video,
installation and multimedia arts, rare
books and manuscripts, historical
memorabilia, and other similar objects.
Works of art don’t include collectibles
reported on line 18 or taxidermy reported
on line 21.
Line 2. An historical treasure is a
building, structure, area, or property with
recognized cultural, aesthetic, or
historical value that is significant in the
history, architecture, archeology, or
culture of a country, state, or city.
Line 3. A contribution of a fractional
interest in art is a contribution, not in
trust, of an undivided portion of a
donor’s entire interest in a work of art. A
contribution of the donor’s entire interest
must consist of a part of each
substantial interest or right the donor
owns in such work of art and must
extend over the entire term of the
donor’s interest in the property. A gift
generally is treated as a gift of an
undivided portion of a donor’s entire
interest in property if the donee is given
the right, as a tenant in common with the
donor, to possession, dominion, and
control of the property for a portion of
each year appropriate to its interest in
such property. For each work of art or
item, report in column (b) the fractional
interest for each year an interest in the
property is received for the underlying
work of art or item. See section 170(o)
for special rules for fractional gifts.
Line 4. Enter information about
contributions of all books and
publications. Don’t include rare books
and manuscripts reported on line 1,
collectibles reported on line 18, and
archival records reported on lines 25
through 28.
