- Posted onDecember 5, 2025
- By Jessica I. Marschall, CPA, ISA AM November 23, 2025
Workplace strategy teams manage complex transitions: consolidations, relocations, lease turnovers, and right-sizing initiatives. These projects require coordination across real estate, facilities, finance, and sustainability departments. Historically, FF&E removal has been treated as a logistics problem: call a liquidator, clear the space, move on.
That approach leaves value on the table.
Donation valuation (the process of documenting Fair Market Value (FMV) for donated furniture, fixtures, and equipment) is a financial tool that belongs in workplace strategy planning. When integrated early, it generates measurable cost offsets, supports ESG reporting requirements, and creates verifiable documentation that satisfies both IRS compliance and corporate governance standards.
The Financial Case
Corporate decommissioning costs are substantial. Removal, transportation, disposal fees, and landfill tipping charges add up quickly for multi-floor projects. Donation valuation provides a mechanism to offset these costs through IRS-compliant charitable contribution deductions.
Under IRC §170, corporations donating property to qualified 501(c)(3) organizations may claim a deduction for the Fair Market Value of donated items. For large-scale workplace transitions involving thousands of furniture pieces, casework systems, and fixtures, this can represent significant tax savings.
However, IRS requirements are strict. Donations exceeding $5,000 require an independent qualified appraisal prepared by a credentialed appraiser and filed with Form 8283. The valuation must be USPAP-compliant, supported by comparable sales data, and defensible under audit. Most liquidation or logistics vendors do not provide this documentation.
Workplace strategy teams that engage a CPA-led valuation provider early in the decommission planning process can model the financial impact of donation versus traditional disposal. In many cases, the tax benefit (combined with avoided disposal costs) makes donation financially comparable to or better than liquidation, particularly for furniture with limited resale value but substantial reuse potential.
Basis Limitations and Cost Avoidance
In practice, at least 90% of clients donating FF&E have partially or fully depreciated the property. Under IRC §170, the charitable contribution deduction is limited to the donor’s tax basis in the property. For fully depreciated assets, the deductible amount on Form 1120 (corporate returns) or Schedule A of Form 1040 (for pass-through entities including LLCs, S corporations, and single-member entities) is limited to remaining basis, which may be zero.
Despite this limitation, donation remains financially advantageous. The primary financial benefit shifts from tax deduction to cost avoidance. Donation eliminates disposal costs including labor for removal, transportation, and landfill tipping fees. In most cases, logistics costs for donation placement are comparable to or lower than disposal logistics. When nonprofit partners handle pickup directly, the cost differential increases further in favor of donation.
For workplace strategy teams managing decommission budgets, this cost structure matters. Even when tax benefits are limited by basis, donation provides measurable savings compared to traditional disposal while supporting ESG objectives and generating compliance documentation for sustainability reporting.
The ESG Reporting Requirement
Corporate ESG frameworks increasingly require documentation of waste diversion, carbon impact, and circular economy outcomes. Workplace transitions generate large volumes of materials, and how those materials are handled affects Scope 3 emissions reporting, waste-reduction targets, and sustainability disclosures.
Donation valuation provides the data ESG teams need. A qualified appraisal includes detailed inventories, item counts, material categories, and destination pathways. This documentation supports:
- Landfill diversion metrics
- Reuse and donation reporting
- Carbon-equivalent savings calculations
- Chain-of-custody verification
- Nonprofit placement tracking
When workplace strategy teams coordinate donation valuation with ESG departments, the result is a unified dataset that satisfies both financial reporting and sustainability disclosure requirements. The same appraisal that supports a tax deduction also provides verifiable ESG metrics for annual reports, board presentations, and regulatory filings.
Workplace Strategy Owns the Timeline
Donation valuation works best when planned into the project timeline, not added retroactively. Workplace strategy teams control the decommission schedule, access to the site, and coordination with contractors. Integrating valuation early ensures:
- Pre-move documentation while assets are still accessible
- Coordination with nonprofit partners for timely pickup
- Alignment with lease turnover deadlines
- Proper substantiation for year-end tax filing
Waiting until after the move (or after items have been removed) makes valuation difficult or impossible. Items must be documented in place, with condition assessments, photographs, and inventories completed before removal. Workplace strategy teams are positioned to manage this process because they already coordinate site access, contractor schedules, and move logistics.
Compliance is Non-Negotiable
The IRS has specific requirements for non-cash charitable contributions. Workplace strategy teams working with finance and tax departments must ensure:
- Appraisals are completed no sooner than 60 days before donation and afterwards within the applicable tax filing window
- The appraiser is a qualified independent professional with appropriate credentials
- Form 8283 is completed and signed by both the appraiser and the receiving nonprofit
- Documentation includes detailed item descriptions, condition assessments, and comparable sales support
- The valuation methodology is USPAP-compliant
Failure to meet these requirements can result in disallowed deductions, penalties, and audit exposure. Workplace strategy teams that treat donation valuation as a compliance matter (not an optional add-on) protect the organization from risk while maximizing financial and ESG benefits.
Integration With Existing Workflows
Donation valuation does not replace liquidation or logistics vendors. It complements them. Workplace strategy teams can:
- Use liquidation vendors for items with strong resale value
- Donate items with high reuse potential but limited resale markets
- Recycle materials that cannot be reused
- Document all pathways with valuation and ESG reporting
This approach maximizes financial recovery, reduces landfill waste, and produces comprehensive documentation for internal reporting and external disclosure.
The Role of CPA-Led Valuation Providers
Not all appraisers are qualified to prepare IRS-compliant donation valuations. The IRS defines a “qualified appraiser” as someone with recognized credentials, relevant experience, and no prohibited relationship with the donor or recipient. CPA-led valuation firms bring financial expertise, tax compliance knowledge, and audit-ready documentation practices.
Workplace strategy teams benefit from working with providers who understand both valuation methodology and corporate tax requirements. CPA-led firms can coordinate with internal tax departments, provide tax-benefit modeling, and deliver documentation that satisfies both IRS substantiation rules and corporate governance standards.
Why This Matters Now
Corporate real estate is under pressure to demonstrate ESG outcomes while managing costs. Workplace transitions are increasing due to hybrid work adoption, lease expirations, and portfolio optimization. At the same time, ESG disclosure requirements are expanding, with California’s SB 253 and SB 261, the SEC’s climate disclosure rule, and the EU’s CSRD all requiring more detailed reporting.
Donation valuation addresses both priorities. It generates financial value through tax deductions while producing the ESG data required for compliance and corporate reporting. Workplace strategy teams that integrate valuation into their standard workflows position their organizations to meet both financial and sustainability goals.
Donation valuation is not an afterthought. It is a strategic tool that belongs in workplace transition planning from the start. When workplace strategy teams coordinate with finance, tax, and ESG departments to integrate valuation into decommission workflows, the result is measurable cost savings, verifiable ESG metrics, and compliant documentation that supports both internal governance and external disclosure requirements.
The question is not whether donation valuation has value. The question is whether workplace strategy teams are capturing that value or leaving it on the table.
