allowing a TV show to film your collection

[Paul70]

I did not want to hijack another thread so I started a new one.

 

I was wondering what were the risks of allowing a TV show to film your collection.

 

A relative of mine allowed a show to film his stuff. He has some pretty neat stuff, from vintage motorcycles, toys, jukeboxes, cars, etc. etc. (not really military oriented). After the show aired he got hit by the IRS with insane values. (He made the mistake of saying "the only one left in the world" etc.). Made his life hell for a while. This was 20 years ago.

 

What about the fear of theft? People could figure out where it is at pretty easily.

 

I haven't been approached, just an abstract question.

 

Thanks, Paul

[Rogi]

I wouldn't do it, just the risk of losing....my precious....is enough to keep me a collecting gremlin hehehhe

[Brig]

How about constant harassment via phone, email, etc from people who see your stuff and want to buy it? I don't need the headache for 15 minutes of temperate fame

[WW2JAKE]

the IRS can get you for that? thats a bit frightening! as for theaft thats a big problem in my area anyway and having my collection in my bedroom and thieves trying at night id say that would probably be a bad idea on their part lol but i think if you were to have it shown then have it in a public setting with your name not mentioned or you pointed out on camera you should be fine even if you have to talk just show hands so on...

[doinworkinvans]

Nah, not a fan of people knowing what I have. Sort of like the social media craze...I dont understand it, why do I want everyone to know what I am doing every minute?!

 

I dont mind sharing things with you guys...but coming into my house and knowing where stuff is stored and where the entrances, exits, doors, windows....nahhhh I dont need that.

 

Too cautious? Paranoid? Maybe some might say, I saw its being smart.

 

Daniel

[GeneralCheese]

What exactly can the IRS get you for for owning a collection?

[ViewfinderGyrene]

What exactly can the IRS get you for for owning a collection?

 

Yes, please elaborate!

[hbtcoveralls]

biggest problem is that you never know how the finished TV piece ends up. You might be thinking "local man preserves military history" and the story might come out "right wing home grown terrorist has an arsenal of military hardware right here in this town!". Never trust a reporter or TV producer. They are pushing whatever point of view they have and will lie to you to get the pictures they need.

Tom Bowers

[ViewfinderGyrene]

Damn good point, Mr. Bowers.

 

Now what are the differences in security concerns between a TV story and a local newspaper doing a write-up or even putting a personal website together? [Not high-jacking the thread, but it seems along the same lines]...

[jkash23686]

Yeah im curious about the IRS thing. They can't go after you for owning anything. I can see maybe if you said the value was a lot and then you sold it, them trying to claim it was earned income. But not just for having it.

 

As far as people knowing what I have I could care less. There are a few lids on the shelf I haven't shown here but most of what I have has already been shown on the forum so whateva.

[Morlok]

I would never do it. I'm not sure what the IRS can do, if anything. But the local police can certainly do their part.

 

As for the IRS, any value would be up to you. Just as you can insure a collection for whatever you want, as long as you don't mind paying for it, (I just began the process of setting up a plan to cover my stuff) you can simply say you picked up most of it at various yard sales for a few bucks, and they can't argue it. Value really has nothing to do with it. Until you sell it & it becomes an earned income, the IRS has no right to anything. However, if he owed, through a court order, a substantial amount of money to someone, then they could seize the property, sell it, and distribute the earnings to the party who is owed. That would be a rare move though. But, if he was publicly bragging about the "insane value", I could see the IRS stepping in...if he owed a lot of money through a court order.

 

The local police are another story. If they see grenades, artillery rounds, TNT & other explosives in their jurisdiction, they will be quick to pay a visit! Normally, they will ask the questions long after the objects in question are "disposed of"....probably on the commanding officers desk & fireplace mantle! Before the forum members who are in law enforcement get mad, let me say that I grew up a few miles from APG and there are lots of military items around here. 2 family members are state police, and my family has been very close to several local police officers for decades. They are practically family. The way I described the police seizing these items is exactly how it is done here. They take it, you never see it again, you will have your day in court...which you will lose, and there is nothing you can say or do to stop it.

 

I'm getting off topic here! In the end, I would never show my collection on TV, or in any public setting. I share photos on this forum & on this forum alone. I trust the members here, and the ones I have met in person are always welcome to stop by whenever they want. But to show my personal items to anyone who can see is just crazy!!

 

My 2 cents!!

[jkash23686]

The IRS can indeed TRY and get earned income for selling things, specially if you do it though something like PayPal. If you reach I think 50k a year in transactions though Paypal they automatically already send a 1099 to you and information to the IRS. Not saying its right because personally if its not your job and you are just buying and selling for your own collection they have no right to any of that money. But they do, already do it.

 

*EDIT: Its 20k a year and its started in 2011

• More than $20,000, AND
• 200 or more payments.

 

 

*

[Morlok]

The IRS can indeed TRY and get earned income for selling things, specially if you do it though something like PayPal. If you reach I think 50k a year in transactions though Paypal they automatically already send a 1099 to you and information to the IRS. Not saying its right because personally if its not your job and you are just buying and selling for your own collection they have no right to any of that money. But they do, already do it.

 

*EDIT: Its 20k a year and its started in 2011

• More than $20,000, AND
• 200 or more payments.

 

*

I agree! I also remember reading somewhere that eBay automatically sends a 1099 at a certain amount. I thought they were around 30k or something. That way, the sellers who use other forms of payment don't slide under the radar. It's crazy, because I have sold items for less than I bought them for. If I sold a lot of items, I could be paying tax after taking a loss! I never sell more than maybe $1000 per year on eBay, so I'm safe, but it still isn't right! I guess receipts could help, if you kept them. But that would be a mess!

[WW2JAKE]

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/100368-e-bay-reporting-sales-to-irs-2011/

i think this one talked about it (i didnt re-read the entire thing)

[john k]

What exactly can the IRS get you for for owning a collection?

 

I don't recall the source, but a while ago I heard from somewhere that "collectibles" can be assumed to gain @ 20% in value per year and that could be considered income even if you don't sell anything.

[Paul70]

Its property tax. I own a building and an overzealous IRS agent drove up and asked "what's in the building?" I said that it was none of their business. I then received a property tax bill for the contents of the building. They took the square footage and multiplied it by an estimated price per square foot. The burden was then on me to prove the contents were not of that value. I had to virtually empty the building and take photos.

 

That is what happened with my relative. Just they had photo proof of the contents from the video. He had an unrestored very rare car from the 20's that was one of three known to exist. They valued it at $50,000. He then had to prove it was not worth that much as it was in rough condition.

[jkash23686]

Its property tax. I own a building and an overzealous IRS agent drove up and asked "what's in the building?" I said that it was none of their business. I then received a property tax bill for the contents of the building. They took the square footage and multiplied it by an estimated price per square foot. The burden was then on me to prove the contents were not of that value. I had to virtually empty the building and take photos.

 

That is what happened with my relative. Just they had photo proof of the contents from the video. He had an unrestored very rare car from the 20's that was one of three known to exist. They valued it at $50,000. He then had to prove it was not worth that much as it was in rough condition.

 

 

Something still doesn't add up to me. Property tax has nothing to do with whats in the building, and its also not dealt with by the IRS its dealt with on a State level and every state has its own % be it personal or business taxes for property. I have to pay both here in DC its called Real Property Tax.

 

The square footage does make sense because thats what they use, it also makes sense for him to ask whats in it to an extent in a sense as what is it being used for because if its storage, a store front etc if its a commercial building, at least here in DC that also factors into the %. But the value of whats in the building has nothing to do with it unless its something Texas specific.

 

When I bought my condo here, DC came in and reassested everything, based on its last sale if there were any improvements like hardwood floors etc. But the value of my home and what I get taxed on has nothing to do with my payment per year unless I were to say renovate my kitchen or bathroom and make an improvement.

[Backtheattack]

hbtcoveralls, what you said is a perfect view what happen here in Germany. Only museums have the right to collect items - that`s what medias like TV and newspapers tell people. In 99% when they talk about a private collection the owner is in this nice "peace loving country" a insane person or a new nazi. If you collect american items, in the current public mainstream it is the same, look at the polls here and you will learn the USA is the devil in the world. So my collection is known only to people I knew well.

[Paul70]

Ok, I did have a business at the address, maybe that was the problem. Also in my mind I think IRS, but it was a state level person. Sorry IRS, wow did not think I would say that! I remember now I had to go to the state office. It was about '91 when it happened. But while I was fighting the valuation, a woman was also fighting because her home was featured in Texas Monthly Magazine and in the photos they saw "rare art" and placed a value. The rare art was high quality reproductions of famous art. She did not have receipts to prove they were repros so she brought in books that stated where the original was located, like the Louve.

 

I believe in Texas you can have $100,000 of assets without property tax, over that amount you have to report the asset.

[Morlok]

Orrrr......you can always screw the IRS when they try to screw you! ...I'll explain...

 

If you own a collectable (the IRS has a list of what is considered a collectable!) for more than a year & sell it for a profit, they can come down on you for capital gains tax, even if they force you to sell. HOWEVER, if you sell it for a loss, you can file a Capital Loss & receive a tax credit! That'll pee in their wheaties!! I wouldn't recommend this though...as you would have to have proof of purchase for every item you are selling! Not to mention, I'm sure the IRS has its own black book of ways to get even!

[Garth Thompson]

This is wandering off the original topic and becoming an IRS b*tch session. Let's stay on topic or I'll have to lock the thread.

 

BTW don't give the IRS to much credit they are way understaffed and underfunded. If your returns show a small or no amount of tax owed and don't claim silly deductions your return will raise no red flags and fly through the system.

 

Garth

[Morlok]

This is wandering off the original topic and becoming an IRS b*tch session. Let's stay on topic or I'll have to lock the thread.

 

BTW don't give the IRS to much credit they are way understaffed and underfunded. If your returns show a small or no amount of tax owed and don't claim silly deductions your return will raise no red flags and fly through the system.

 

Garth

You are 100% correct. I apologize if my comment was off kilter. Just trying to make a few people laugh.

 

As for the IRS, they are indeed understaffed, and with a huge work load to boot. I may take cheap shots at them while I'm joking around, but I assure you, that is one job I would not want. They have a job to do, and although it is an unpopular job, the country would be in disarray without them.

 

If my last comment offended anyone in any way, I apologize. I was just trying to add a little humor to the day...

[mghcal]

If you're going to let someone film I'd have them say it's an anonymous collector and meet them somewhere besides your home to film. The absolute worst thing you could do is tell everyone about everything that you own. I read recently that something like 1 in 5 homes will eventually be burglarized and that the US has the highest burglary rate in the world. The absolute best step in preventing yourself from being a victim is to not let anyone know you have something valuable in the first place. You're most likely to be robbed by your family/friends or the cable installer or appliance repairman simply because they've been in your house and saw something of value.

 

If you are going to share that info then protect your valuables by having a decent safe that's securely bolted to your floor and make sure it's in a closet or somewhere that's difficult to access any side but the door since 99% of home floorsafes can be opened in less than 5 minutes with a cutoff saw through the sides, back, or top. Of course most burglars are teenagers or tweakers that wont know how to get through a safe but don't think safes are going to keep out any truly skilled or determined burglar! I have a friend that bought a $12K safe with sensors on the top, sides, and front and a super heavy special steel reinforced door, one morning he showed up to find burglars had broke through the business next door, cut through a wall to access my friends business, and then cut through the interior wall his safe was up against and used a cutoff saw to gain access through the back of his safe cleaning him out of well over a million dollars in high end watches and jewelry much of which wasn't insured. His mistake was letting to many people know what he had and not keeping enough of his valuables in his bank safety deposit box. I understand that a lot of militaria can't be reasonably stored in a safe so get a dog, get an alarm system, leave your tv on, have your lights on timers so it looks like your home. Burglars will rarely come into your house if they think you're home. If you collect small military items and can put them in a safe then I suggest having a cheaper decoy safe with some better junk you can afford to lose and a better safe hidden in the floor or behind a wall with your real valuables.

 

A couple related stories, I know quite a few high end watch collectors that used to be very active on Internet forums but today noone really posts anything because of the risks. It's easy to get your name and address from your Internet postings and social media and we were noticing a trend of burglaries and friends saying to keep an eye out for different stolen watches and it all happened around the same time suggesting a criminal group was targeting these well known collectors. Their homes and businesses were being burglarized, their hotel rooms were being burglarized, their email accounts and social media accounts were being hacked, it got so bad that several Italian collectors were literally being stalked and these criminals who had researched them online would ride up to them on motorbikes as they were walking down the streets and they'd snatched their watches right from their wrists this happened several times all in a couple week time period until they all just stopped wearing their watches due to the risk. You never know who is watching what you say or post! Of course I wouldn't worry so much about militaria having the same value to theives since so many items the value lies in their historical significance and a thief can't really sell those items in such a close knit collecting community like the militaria community.

 

Another cautionary tale...recently burglaries in my area of northern California have drastically increased with the bad economy. My sister lives in a rural area and there have been a rash of burglaries there with many of her friends homes being hit. They noticed that the common theme was their homes were burglarized when they were at a particular bar that hang out in. Basically there was someone who either worked in the bar or was a regular who would see one of my sisters neighbors in the bar and they'd call their accomplices to rob these peoples houses and they've yet to be caught because whoever is passing on the info is telling the burglars when the victim is leaving the bar. What's bad is if you're a regular at a bar the bartender or other regulars will know if you're married or single, whether you have roommates or kids, and they can tell when your house will be empty based on that info. Again the best way to avoid being a victim is to be discrete and simply not let anyone know you have a collection of value. If you do have something and people know then lock it away as best you can and hope for the best...

[Bugme]

Simple answer to the OP's question: No!

[Manchu Warrior]

I don't even let my neighbors know what I own and it has nothing to do with taxes and everything to do with me being an overly paranoid person!