Coming up with a fair market value for home built boats which will pass muster with the IRS can be a tricky business.  I'm no tax expert but, as a mostly reformed bean counter, I think you'd be safe to deduct the costs you listed above if the boat isn't very old.  If it is old, calculating depreciation would be another dicey business.  If memory serves (I had Federal Tax in college about a hundred years ago), your building time is considered a hobby and is not deductible unless you can make a case that you're building boats as a business.

If we're talking much money here, I'd consult a proper tax accountant on the matter.  If it isn't going to make a big difference in your tax amount, it might not be worth risking an audit, which can be a real PITA.

.....Michael

FWIW, under the tax code changes passed by the last administration, it probably won't make any difference at all. With the changes made to the standard and itemized deductions, a charitable donation isn't worth anywhere near what it used to be and it would have to be a large fraction of your income to make it worth more than just taking the standard deduction. I experienced that first-hand when I donated a boat to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum charity auction a few years ago.

Laszlo

Thanks for the responses. I was not aiming for an amount to use on my taxes as a charitable dedcution. The charity would like an "estimated retail value" for the promotion. There is a kayak from REI in the raffle as well which has its retail price listed. It just gives participants an idea of what they are potentially winning. So, does that help with pricing? This is not my first build and it is being built specifically for this event. Laszlo, you have built many CLC boats, what would you charge to build a Kaholo 14 for a private party? Anyone else have an ideal? Thanks!

Sorry, Charles, I guess I've still got some reforming to do before I stop jumping to bean counter conclusions.  <;-)  My bad.

.....Michael

Charles,

I'd given the last question in your previous post a little bit of thought at an earlier date when a friend asked "how much to make me one of those?" in an offhand way.  The deal never got done, but I decided my response was going to be: Price of all things purchased from CLC with respect to the kit+options, plus actual price (kept in a logbook with receipts) of all consumambles & etc. purchased locally (paint, varnish, sandpaper, gloves, chip brushes, random hardware, etc.) and then take that number and double it to cover labor.

So, if complete kit+options was $3,000 and local purchases were $300, that would be $3,300x2=$6,600 for delivery to the "customer."

I'm sure this starts to look like a big number, but I'm also sure this would actually make the hourly labor rate very cheap.  And it doesn't account for wear and tear on all tools & etc.

I'd also considered whether or not a different price would be fair for a "showroom quality" v. "functional quality" construction/finish on the boat.  But upon more thought I decided that I can't really achieve "showroom quality," and I wouldn't allow myself to build only to "functional quality" - so I'd end up always building to my own "pretty good and nice enough for me" standard.  I'd just tell the customer to take a good look at my own boats, and recognize the thing I built for them would also have the occasional place with extra fill epoxy, drips that didn't quite sand out, etc..

Them's my thoughts on this...

Dan Thaler would actually be a better person to ask about the price than me. Not only has he, like many here, built a bunch more CLC boats than I have, he is actively selling them through his business, Moonlight Marine, so he's had to work out this whole pricing thing.

Bubblehead's approach is a good first approximation, but as he suspects it results in a hopelessly low labor and overhead rate.

Laszlo

   I would put an estimated retail of 3800-4200 on it.

   Thanks again guys, I'll post what I come up with and how I got there. 

Charlie D

   Thanks to Laszlo for the plug.

A few years back I built a Nymph 12 canoe for a TV show I was on. It sat unused for a few years as I am more of a kayaker than a canoer. I decided to put it in a silent auction at a local charity gala. Knowing what I had into it I put a starting figure of $3000 on it. It didn't get any bids at all. I took it home and started using it and realized it's a really fun boat. I ended up selling it last spring as a used boat. 

Raffles are a whole different thing. If the tickets are cheap enough someone will get a really nice bargain.

Dan

I used a formula from a custom home builder. He gave me a few different ones depending on what was being done. This one provided for a retail mark up for materials and supplies with minimal labor to complete, his costs X 2.2. Using that formula gives me a suggested retail of $5200. I doubt they will get that much for it, but that's where the numbers fell. Also Dan, thanks for your story on the canoe. I had a similar experience last year. I had built a CLC Wood Duck and mounted it on a 1986 AMC Eagle station wagon that I had restored. I combined them in a charity auction for the Chesapeake Conservancy on a collector car web based auction. One of the first comments was -- look at this, never saw a car auction where you get a FREE boat! It did not go well. Charlie D

   Charles, I responded to your contact through my website. Let me know if you got it (I'm not sure it's working correctly).

Dan

   Dan, I did not receive your response. Give it another try.

Charlie D