Original Message:
Re: How to get rid of a timeshare you no longer want .... (by Warren F.):
Best way to get rid of a timeshare is to go to ebay and put it on auction. Ask for .01 as starting bid. List all fees that are due and state that the new owner will be responsible for them. You might get a bidder or find other options for getting rid of it.
People like to suggest donations, I would tell my clients as a tax consultant not to, unless they did everything they could to first sell it. I know it was suppose to be a vacation spot, however every one of those sales presentation claimed that you where buying or making an investment and it would be very easy to claim you purchased the timeshare as more of an investment than personal use. So you can take a long term investment loss on every dollar you lose plus and cost associated with selling your timeshare. Some have already spent a lot of fees for owning it, all tax deductible if you word it right.
Donations, you get to right of the amount of the value of the item at the time it was donated. You will need to have enough deductions to do a schedule A and not go over your limits to use any deduction. You will also need to pay all the fees and taxes up to date prior to donation.
Best to try to sell it on ebay at least once.