Tax Q&A;: Tax Q&A;: Miles for Charity

This daily tax season column publishes tax questions from readers answered by local members of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Q. Last month I donated some expiring frequent-flier miles to a charity. Can any fair market value be assigned to such a donation for the purpose of claiming an itemized deduction? If so, how can one calculate or determine the value?

A. Yes, you can claim your donation of frequent-flier miles to a qualified charity. Because the miles are property, they must be owned for more than one year to qualify for the deduction. (The fair market value of property held less than one year is reduced to its tax basis, which in this would be zero.) The deduction is equal to the fair market value (the price at which a willing buyer would pay a willing seller). Call the airline, your travel agent or the sponsor of the mileage program to help you establish value.

For more information on taxes and to see other questions and answers in this series, go to the Times Web site https://www.latimes.com/taxes. To find a CPA visit the California Society of CPAs at https://www.ca.cpa.org.