On Dec 11, 2013, at 1:19 PM, "Maia Sanders" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I charge $35 an hour for non-profits ( I can deduct from my taxes), and $50 an hour for for-profit schools.

Be careful, Maia. The IRS does NOT allow you to take a tax deduction for the value of your time when donating artwork to a charity. Nor do they allow you to deduct the "fair market value" of the work. You can only deduct the "cost basis" of the artwork, which means the cost of the materials used in making it. For traditional media, this means only the cost of pencils, paper, paint, brushes, canvas, etc. For digital work, there really is no cost basis, except maybe the cost of a few prints, which is negligible. There have been many attempts to overturn this rule, but all have stalled in Congress.

Therefore, you shouldn't charge less to a non-profit on the assumption that you can make up for it by taking a tax deduction. If you choose to charge less to a non-profit because you support their cause, that's fine, but recognize that you can't deduct the difference in income.

Jim

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