V

• Author: Bruce R. Hopkins
• Profession: Leading authority on the law of tax-exempt organizations
• Pages: 450-456

V

V

vacation home

A “vacation home” is a home owned by one or more individuals that is not his, her, or their

principal residence ;isapersonal residenceand (usually) is used by the individual or individ-

uals as a place for a vacation. This type of property may be the subject of a contribution of a

remainder interest in a personal residence, even though the gift is not made in tr ust,andthus

gives rise to a federal income tax charitabl e contribution deduction (IRC §170(f )(3)(B)(i)).

For this deduction to be available, the residence must contain facilities for cooking, sleeping,

and sanitation. It is common for gif ts of the use of vacation hom es to be made in the contex t

of charity auctions; there is no federal incometax charitable deduction available forthis type

of gift. [CG §§ 9.13(b), 15.2].

vague

Astatute,regulation,orrule may be determined by a court to be “vague” and thus unconsti-

tutional. The vagueness element is present when persons of common intelligence must nec-

essarily guess as to the meaning of the law and dier as to its application. [FR §4.8] (a lso Void

for vagueness).

valuation

The word “valuation” is used to describe the process of ascertaining the value of an item of

property.Thepropertymaybepersona l property or real property,t angible property or

intangible property.Apropertymaybevaluedinitsentiretyorpartially.

In the context of the law concerning nonprot organizations,avaluationisdoneusually

to determine the va lue of a property for purp oses of calcul ating the amount of a charitable

contribution deduction, to ascer tain whether there has been an excess benet transaction

or a violation of the private inurem ent doctrine, or for determining the value of property

to be recorded on the bo oks and records of the organiz ation that has received th e property

(such as by gift or purchase). Valuationof property also occ urs in the processof ascert aining

the amount of a decedent’s gross estate.Avaluationisusuallyperformedbyanapprais er.If

valuation is the subject of litigation, two or more appraisers are likely to be serving as expert

witnesses.

Bruce R. Hopkins’ Nonprot Law Dictionary, First Edition. Bruce R. Hopkins.

©2015 Bruce R. Hopkins. Published 2015 by John Wiley& S ons,Inc.