How to Report a Stock Donation: Form 8283 and Schedule A

To report a stock donation, you itemize deductions on Schedule A of Form 1040 and file Form 8283 for any noncash gift worth more than $500. Publicly traded shares go in Section A of Form 8283 no matter the size of the gift; non-publicly traded stock worth more than $5,000 goes in Section B and requires a qualified appraisal. Itemizing only pays off if your total deductions clear the 2026 standard deduction of $16,100 for single filers or $32,200 for married couples filing jointly.¹

Which Section of Form 8283 You Use

Any noncash charitable contribution over $500 triggers Form 8283.² The form has two sections, and the type of stock you gave determines which one you complete.

Section A for Publicly Traded Shares

All publicly traded stock donations go in Section A, even if the gift is worth $50,000 or $500,000. Publicly traded means shares listed on a recognized exchange, traded on a national or regional over-the-counter market, or mutual fund shares quoted daily in a national newspaper. No qualified appraisal is required, regardless of the amount.²

You enter the charity’s name and address, a description of the shares (company name and number of shares), the date of the contribution, the date you acquired the shares, how you acquired them, your cost basis, and the fair market value. If you cannot determine the acquisition date or basis and have a reasonable explanation, note that on the form rather than guessing.²

Section B for Non-Publicly Traded Stock Over $5,000

Privately held or restricted stock worth more than $5,000 goes in Section B. This section requires everything from Section A plus the appraised value and the appraiser’s signature. An authorized official from the charity must also sign the Donee Acknowledgment in Part V, confirming receipt. That signer must be someone authorized to sign the organization’s tax returns or a person specifically designated to sign Form 8283.³

The qualified appraisal itself must be signed and dated no earlier than 60 days before the donation and no later than the due date, including extensions, of the return on which you first claim the deduction.⁴ Incomplete Section B filings are a common reason deductions get thrown out. The IRS instructions state that your deduction will generally be disallowed if you omit required information or submit vague, non-responsive language in any field.² A valuation that misses the mark carries its own risk: the IRS imposes a 20% penalty on underpayments caused by substantial valuation misstatements and 40% for gross misstatements.⁵

How to Value the Shares

For publicly traded stock, the IRS does not use the closing price. You take the average of the highest and lowest selling prices on the date the shares landed in the charity’s account, then multiply by the number of shares. If the stock traded between $45 and $49 that day, each share is valued at $47.⁶

The transfer date matters because it pins down which trading prices you use. A properly endorsed stock certificate counts as delivered on the date you mail it to the charity or its agent. If you instead hand the certificate to your broker or the issuing company for a name-change transfer, the contribution date is when the stock is actually transferred on the company’s books, which can be days or weeks later.⁷

Holding period changes what you can deduct. Stock held longer than one year is capital gain property, and you deduct the full fair market value on the donation date. Stock held one year or less is treated as ordinary income property, and your deduction drops to the lower of your cost basis or the fair market value. Publication 526 gives a clean example: stock bought five months ago for $800 and now worth $1,000 produces an $800 deduction, because the $200 gain would have been short-term.⁷

Documentation to Have Before You File

Gather these items before you sit down with your return. Missing any of them can delay filing or cost you the deduction.

Brokerage transfer confirmation showing the number of shares, ticker symbol, transfer date, and receiving charity’s account details.
Written acknowledgment from the charity, required for any single gift worth $250 or more. It must include the charity’s name, a description of the donated property (not a dollar value), and a statement about whether the charity provided any goods or services in return. You must have this letter in hand before you file; the IRS will not accept one obtained after the fact.⁸
Cost basis records, meaning your original purchase price plus any reinvested dividends or commissions. If records are lost, attach a written explanation to your return.
Trading prices on the donation date, showing the daily high and low for publicly traded shares.
For Section B filings, the signed qualified appraisal.

Reporting the Deduction on Schedule A

The value of your stock donation flows onto Schedule A, on the line designated for gifts other than cash or check. It combines with your other itemized deductions such as mortgage interest and state taxes. If the combined total does not exceed the standard deduction for your filing status, you get no benefit from itemizing and would report nothing.

Submitting Your Return

Most tax software will generate Form 8283 from the data you enter. If you e-file, attach a signed PDF of the form to the electronic submission. For Section B filings, that PDF needs both the appraiser’s signature and the charity’s authorized signature before you transmit.

If you file on paper and need to send a signed Form 8283, the IRS instructions direct you to mail it with Form 8453 rather than staple it to Form 1040. Make sure all signatures are dated before you send anything.²

Records to Keep After Filing

Hold onto a complete copy of your return, the brokerage transfer confirmation, and the charity’s written acknowledgment for at least three years from the filing date or two years from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later. If you filed a qualified appraisal for non-publicly traded stock, keep it for at least six years. The longer window protects you if the IRS questions whether you reported all your income, since the six-year limitation period applies when omitted income exceeds 25% of what you reported.⁹

If the Charity Sells the Stock

If the charity sells, exchanges, or otherwise disposes of the donated stock within three years of receiving it, the organization must file Form 8282 with the IRS within 125 days of the disposition and send you a copy.¹⁰ This does not change your deduction or create any tax liability for you. The IRS uses it to cross-check that the values on your Form 8283 were reasonable. Most charities sell donated stock immediately to avoid market risk, so receiving a Form 8282 is routine.

1
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026
2
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8283 (Rev. December 2025)
3
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8283
4
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 561 (12/2025), Determining the Value of Donated Property
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S.C. 6662 – Imposition of Accuracy-Related Penalty on Underpayments
6
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 561 Determining the Value of Donated Property
7
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526 (2025), Charitable Contributions
8
Internal Revenue Service. Charitable Contributions: Written Acknowledgments
9
Internal Revenue Service. How Long Should I Keep Records
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Internal Revenue Service. Form 8282 – Donee Information Return