RVs come to us from builders whose health, marriage or job changed, from widows holding a project nobody in the family can finish, and from pilots who built one airplane and are no longer flying it. A flying RV with a builder's log and a documented engine is a straightforward donation with a deep buyer pool. A fuselage on a cradle with the wings in the rafters and the finishing kit still crated is equally welcome, and goes to a different recipient entirely.
What moves the number on an RV
Which model, and completion stage. RV-4 through RV-14, tailwheel or nosewheel. For a flying aircraft, the condition inspection date and the operating limitations. For a project, roughly how far it got — empennage, wings, fuselage, firewall forward, finishing. A documented project is worth several times an undocumented one.
The builder's log and photographs. This is the single biggest variable on a project. A log with photographs lets a buyer or a school understand exactly what was done and what was not. Many builders documented better than they remember; look before assuming it is missing.
Engine provenance. Certified Lycomings, rebuilt cores, clones and auto-conversions all appear in this fleet. Tell us what is installed or crated and where it came from, as best you know. On an unfinished project the engine and panel frequently carry more value than the airframe.
Panel and avionics. Experimental panels range from basic VFR to full glass. These are worth real money and are easy to value separately, which matters if an airframe is better used as a teaching airframe than a flyer.
How an RV gets to us
Flying aircraft are ferried by a pilot current in type, after we read the operating limitations — some experimentals carry restrictions that affect a cross-country ferry, and that is our job to check rather than yours. Projects come out on a trailer: we bring cradles, packing material and the crew, and we load the boxes of parts too, including the ones in the attic and under the bench. Nothing is billed to you.
What the first call covers
What you can deduct for this aircraft
A flying RV sells to another pilot, so your deduction is the gross proceeds on Form 1098-C, and a well-built example clears $5,000 comfortably. An unfinished project is the more interesting case: these frequently go to a technical school or a builders' association as instructional material, which is significant intervening use and is valued by qualified appraisal rather than a sale. Partial kits also sometimes fall below the appraisal threshold entirely, which keeps the paperwork simple.
Where an appraisal applies it is the donor's expense and the donor's choice of appraiser; we sign Form 8283 Section B as the recipient charity.
Rules for aircraft gifts are in IRS Publication 526, valuation in Publication 561. Nothing here is tax advice — confirm your figures with your CPA. How the deduction works · FAA paperwork
Other models in this class
Start with the N-number
We will pull the registry record before we call you back.