Two IRS forms govern every yacht donation above five thousand dollars. The owner files Form 8283 with the return. The charity issues Form 1098-C. Get either one wrong and the deduction is in jeopardy.
Form 8283 is the donor's declaration of a noncash contribution. For any vessel valued above five hundred dollars, Form 8283 is attached to the return. For vessels valued above five thousand, Section B is mandatory and carries the heavier obligations.
Section B requires:
SeaKeepers issues Form 1098-C to the donor and files Copy A with the IRS. The form indicates what the charity intends to do with the vessel, which determines the deduction structure. The key box is whether the charity certifies significant intervening use, material improvement, or transfer to a needy individual. If any of those boxes is checked, the donor is entitled to deduct fair market value. Otherwise the deduction is limited to gross proceeds when the charity sells the vessel.
If the charity sells the vessel without intervening use, it must issue Form 1098-C within thirty days of the sale, showing the gross proceeds. If the charity will use the vessel — the SeaKeepers research-fleet path or a qualifying lease — it must issue Form 1098-C within thirty days of receiving the contribution, with the intervening-use box checked.
SeaKeepers is set up as an operating charity, not an auction conduit. Vessels accepted into the program are placed in research-fleet use, leased through a three-year bareboat arrangement to a qualified operator, or sold through the Boathouse Auctions thirty-day campaign. The first two paths preserve the fair-market-value deduction. The third applies the gross-proceeds rule. We confirm the disposition path with the owner before the donation closes.
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