Art Appraisal Services

Art Advisory Panel

The Panel helps IRS review and evaluate property appraisals submitted by taxpayers in support of the fair market value claimed for works of art included in federal income, estate and gift tax cases in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code. The Panel members, up to 25 renowned art experts, serve without compensation.

Referral to the Art Advisory Panel

All taxpayer cases selected for examination that include an item of art with a claimed value of $50,000 or more must be referred to Art Appraisal Services for possible review by the Commissioner's Art Advisory Panel (See IRM 4.48.2, Valuation Assistance for Cases Involving Works of Art and IRM 8.18.1, Valuation Assistance Procedures ZIP). Please review the photographic requirements PDF for referrals, and also our preferred individual appraisal item format PDF for works of art valued at over $50,000.

The Art Advisory Panel cannot answer questions on general tax matters, questions you have about a refund you are expecting from the IRS or questions about your economic impact payment. If you have a question that is NOT related to an art appraisal matter, we are not able to assist you. Please refer to the main IRS.gov website. For inquiries specific to an art appraisal matter, contact the Director, Art Appraisal Services at 305-982-5364 or at,

Internal Revenue Service/Art Appraisal Services
1111 Constitution Ave., Suite 700
C:AP:SO:ART
Washington, DC 20224-0002
ATTN: AAS

Annual Summary Report

The Annual Summary Report describes the closed meeting activity of the Commissioner's Art Advisory Panel for the most recent year. The report discusses the procedures of the Art Panel, provides a list of panelists and summarizes the art items reviewed during the year. If you would like older Annual Summary Reports, please contact the Director, Art Appraisal Services 305-982-5364.

Publications

Forms

Revenue Procedures

Revenue Procedure 96-15 PDF provides procedures for taxpayers to request a review of art valuations for income, estate, and gift returns. Taxpayers may obtain a Statement of Value from the Service for an advance review of art valuation claims prior to filing the return. The Statement of Value may then be used to complete the taxpayer's return.

The procedure generally applies to an item of art that has been appraised at $50,000 or more. The appraisal submitted must meet specific substantiation requirements. A user fee is charged for each request. Effective February 1, 2020, the current fees for a Statement of Value are $7,500 for one to three items and $400 for each additional item. See Revenue Procedure 2020-1 PDF.

Method of Payment 

As modified by Rev. Proc. 2020-01, user fees for Statement of Value requests made pursuant to Rev. Proc. 96-15 must be made by direct debit from a checking or savings account through Pay.gov. Payment confirmations are provided through the Pay.gov portal and should be submitted with the Statement of value request. Art Appraisal Services will not consider a Statement of Value request complete, and will hold the request in suspense, until the correct user fee is paid through Pay.gov. Use of Pay.gov will replace the mailing or hand delivering of user fees. The use of Pay.gov to submit SOV user fees is mandatory.

Information on payment submission can be found at Frequently Asked Questions on Pay.gov. Please refer to the additional instructions  PDF on submitting a payment through Pay.gov.

Send requests for a Statement of Value to the address listed below.

Internal Revenue Service/Art Appraisal Services
1111 Constitution Ave., Suite 700
C:AP:SO:ART
Washington, DC 20224-0002
ATTN: AAS

Note: it is recommended that a private delivery service be utilized, as packages sent via USPS are subject to irradiation which may damage professional photographs.