Value of Business Tools/Equipment?

[Chicago]

Illinois has a $1500 cap on "Tools of the Trade" or whatever the phrasing is for things used in your business. Are these things valued like personal property, i.e., garage sale, 10% of new price, etc.? I've been depreciating them on my tax returns since I purchased them but some were purchased as early as 2000 but some during 2005/2006.

If I value them like personal property at roughly 10% of what they were when new, I barely come under the $1500 cap but still am under it. Mostly it's a PA system, lights, computer, and CD decks for my DJ business.

I also did a quick listing of everything else I own and was amazed that I came in way under the $4000 wildcard figure for personal property/cash. So cool!

[SinkingFast]

We are a family of 6. Just moved off an acreage property. We have stuff in our garage most city dwellers don't own. Our attny listed our household contents at $3500. Remember,......... It's not what you paid. It's what you could get if you were to sell it now. Yard sale, garage sale, 2nd hand stores type pricing.

I would suggest you look around for comparable items to guesstimate pricing of your "Tools of the Trade" things.

CD's won't be a problem. Those go at yard sales for anywhere from a Quarter to a buck a piece. It would take a whole bunch of CD's to amount to any significant value.

Goodwill sells fully functional computers for $50-$100. Laptops, desktops, real cheap. GW has an auction website you can check out. They also have base opening prices set for items.

The other items, the lights and PA system,......... Try eBay to see if you can find similar items. If you're an eBay member, you can search closed auctions as well to see what similar items recently went for.

Jot notes, clip ads from the paper, or print out ads you find on the Net to save for documentation of the values you set.