Tangible

• The first qualifier for tangible property is that it be tangible, meaning that you can touch it with your hands. Items such as jewelry, artwork, vehicles and furniture are tangible. However, property such as stock in a company, patent rights or trademarks is intangible because it can't be touched.
  
  

Movable

• Tangible property must also be movable in almost all contexts. Tangible property is often compared to real property, which includes lands and buildings permanently affixed to them. Heavy machinery, power tools and antiques would be considered movable because you can take them from one place to another. Land, however, cannot be moved, and neither can the buildings and fixtures permanently attached to it. Therefore, real estate in almost all contexts is not considered tangible property.
  
  

Property

• Tangible property requires there to be a legally recognized ownership interest in the item. Ownership in an item gives the owner legally enforceable rights against people who infringe on her ownership. In the case of jewelry, for instance, if someone were to take the jewelry away from you, you could sue them in a civil court and either get your jewelry back or monetary damages for the theft.
  
  

Taxes

• Tangible property is important in the context of paying taxes because you can depreciate it, taking a deduction for a periodic decrease in value. Also, if you sell or dispose of tangible property, the IRS usually wants you to pay taxes on it. For instance, if you bought a stamp collection for $2,000 and later sell it for $10,000, the IRS will expect you to pay taxes on the $8,000 gain. The IRS broadly defines tangible property as "any tangible property except land and improvements thereto," in Regulation 1.48-1(c).
  
  

Charitable Giving

• Many charitable organizations allow gifts of tangible property. People like to donate tangible property because it allows them to avoid paying capital gains tax on the increase in value to an item. Instead, they get a tax deduction. For a stamp collection that a donor paid $2,000 on but is now worth $10,000, rather than having to pay $2,000 in taxes, if they give the collection away they'll receive an $8,000 deduction, meaning they'll save up to $4,000 in taxes depending on their bracket.