Car Donation and Tax Deduction

If you own a car and it is just sitting in your garage or driveway collecting dust, you should think about donating the car for a good cause. Car donation is something very new to a lot of people and many are unaware that it is even possible. Most people simply sell of their unused car at a dirt cheap price or take it to the junkyard for disposal. Why sell your car for pittance or scrap it for metal when you can donate the car to help people who are really in need of one?

You may now know this, but there are a lot of good things associated with donating a car. Even if your car is not in perfect working condition and has some defects you can still donate it because it might be of no value to you but to someone out there, it is priceless. With just some minor repairs you vehicle could be running again in no time. Besides that, if you decide to donate, all you have to do is make a phone call to you nearest donation center and they will come to pick up the donation. If your vehicle is not in working order, they will take care of the towing charges. Hence, there is no hassle involve, just a phone call away.

Donation centers are very helpful and they will bring all the paperwork for you to sign which is very minimal in any case. Before you know it, you will have extra space in your garage or your driveway where your unused vehicle used to be. The free space can be then be used for better things that are productive and fulfilling instead.

Donating a can also help with your taxes as it can be used as a large IRS tax deduction. This is one of the best reasons to donate and most people are not aware of this. Hence, besides having some extra space and doing a good deed, your tax statement will also look better with the tax deduction.

Your donation may go to a family that dreams of having a car to take them around or the organization may use your donation for charitable causes like delivering food, clothes or furniture. All in all, you will have the peace of mind knowing that your donated vehicle goes a long way and will be put to good use instead of just sitting idly collecting dust.

In order to find a charity organization that accepts car donations, you can do a search online or in the yellow pages to locate one nearest to your home. Most charitable organizations would be more than happy to accept your donation. If you have problems finding an organization near your area, look for ones outside of town and chances are they will be rushing to collect your donation from you.

As a conclusion, if you own a car and are no longer using it, do consider donation. The benefits are endless and you will gain peace of mind and it is guaranteed to a put a smile on your face every time you think of your vehicle being used for charitable cause.

Find out more on how to Donate a Car by visiting http://raysinfo.info a popular information website that offers information on health, wealth, wisdom and also about how to Donate to charity

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Making charitable contributions is a wonderful way to help out your fellow man, but it is also a good way to get some tax breaks. One really good method is to donate a car to charity. However, there are some things you will need to do in order to donate a car to charity and claim the donation on your tax returns.

First of all, make sure the organization is qualified. You can do this by logging onto the IRS website to check for qualified charitable organizations. If the organization you donate a vehicle to is not qualified then you will not be able to claim the deduction. So you will want to check this out before you make your donation if making the deduction is important to you.

Another question you will need answered before you donate your vehicle to charity is what will become of the vehicle? Will it be sold to make money for the charity or will the charity use it for transportation? Also, the car might be given to someone poor who needs transportation. Regardless of what the car will be used for, you have a right to ask the question and decide if you believe it is a charitable cause. If not, then you can look for another charitable institution that will use the vehicle in a means you approve of.

Make sure you determine the fair market value of the vehicle in order to claim the donation on your taxes. You will not be able to simply claim the Blue Book value for your vehicle but will have to take into account the vehicle’s condition, and accessories you have added, and the like. There are several IRS and other guides that will help you come up with the fair market value of the vehicle.

Make sure you follow any laws required by your state regarding donating vehicles to charity. More often than not laws require you to transfer the title to the charity, if at all possible, and do not leave license plates on the vehicle. This will eliminate liability issues as well.

If after reading all the information on the IRS website and following these steps you still have questions regarding your charitable vehicle donation then you should contact the IRS directly in order to have your questions answered. It is better to have your questions answered before you make a donation than after, so be proactive.

Donating a car to charity is a really good thing to do and it will help you out on your tax returns as well. Just be careful because there are charities that will tell you what you want to hear, which can cause problems for you when you try to claim your donation. Just make sure you have all questions answered by the IRS.

About the Author:
Robert Michael is a writer for Quasi Charity which is an excellent place to find charity links, resources and articles. For more information go to: http://www.quasicharity.com

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Alright, that old rattletrap, rusting buggy still masquerading as a car has been taking up space in your driveway for much too long. It’s become part of the neighborhood landscape. You’ve been able to overlook it, but your neighbors are growing a little upset. You’ve bitten the bullet and realize the time has come to get rid of it, but how?

Why not contact a charity to see if they are interested taking the car as a donation? Not only is giving your car away to a charity good for deposit in your karma bank, when tax time rolls around, that donation can help keep some of your cold hard cash in the bank as well by allowing you to take a potentially sizable deduction. If you ask around, you’ll find numerous charities that have established programs for taking vehicles as donations.

As you might expect with the IRS, there are some tricky rules. Giving a car away to charity for a tax break is not as easy as it used to be. The old tax laws allowed you to write off the fair market value of any car given to charity. Fair market value was determined by auto industry standard evaluation services, like the Kelly Blue Book, so if the Blue Book value of your car was $2,000, you got to write that whole amount off when tax time arrived. That system was fraught with abuse, however, with people claiming inflated donation values of $654 million in one year alone. Therefore, the law changed in 2005, and the IRS now places some limitations on the way donation deductions are claimed.

The basic rule is that IRS places a cap on vehicle donation deductions of $500. If your donation is worth more than that, then you will be required to meet a few criteria before you can claim your deduction. First, you need to know how the charity is using your car. If they take if from you and sell it, then the price they sell it for is the amount you can claim as a deduction, even if it is less than the value of the car. If the charity sells your car for more than it is worth, you can only claim a deduction up to the fair market value of the vehicle.

There are a few exceptions. If the charity decides to give the car away to a needy person, or if they sell the car to a needy person for far below the fair market value, then in most cases you can claim the actual worth of your car as your deduction. Also, under the "Intervening Use Exception," if the charity uses your car for awhile before selling it, and then sells it for below the fair market value, you can claim the value of your car at the time of the donation as your deduction, since their use of the car lowered the value.

However, if the charity makes improvements to the car, increasing its value, and later sells it for more than it was worth when you donated it, you can still only claim the fair market value of the vehicle at the time of donation. Whichever circumstance applies to you, the charity should notify you in writing within 30 days of receipt of the car of their intentions for the car and the donation value. If they sell the car, they must notify you within 30 days in writing of the sale price.

Of course, deductions are not subtracted directly from your tax bill, but rather allow you to reduce your tax bill by a percentage. Exactly how much a deduction will take off your tax bill depends on your income, your tax bracket and how you file.

About the Author:

Robert G. Knechtel operates several websites, including TaxChronicle.Com - Understanding Federal and State Taxes and CreditCardSanity.Com - How to Use Credit Cards Sanely.

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If you have an old car in your garage (or backyard) and you don’t have a clue how to get rid of it, one way is to donate your car to a charity. You might think that your old car won’t matter at all and it’s a piece of junk, but your car can still be useful. You will be helping a lot of people, and at the same time gain something for yourself. Car donation is the best option to get rid of an unused car while giving you the chance to help yourself and others. Your charitable donation might mean a lot, without you even realizing it.

You can get started by finding a charitable institution online. It is best to search for them online because it is the easiest, fastest way to get the information you need. While online, you can speak to a representative and they will explain the steps and procedures and the law regarding tax deductions. If is important that you are aware of the tax deduction rules so that you’ll know what to expect regarding the benefits you’ll get from your donated car.

If you donate your car, you can claim a tax deduction of up to $500. If the charity sells your vehicle for more than $500, you will be notified with the exact amount of the sale, and can use this amount on your tax return. The market value will depend upon the kind of vehicle you donate. Not all values are equal. For example, late model cars and vans that have seen a lot of miles can be used, though they might need some costly repairs before they are ready to be put back on the road by the charity.

Donating your unused car to a charity is a great way for you to get a deduction on your taxes. Some of the organizations use the cars for their services and personal travel, while the others sell them directly to raise funds. You should also know that some programs aren’t run by charitable institutions, but rather salvage companies that use the name of the charity as a front, and in return they pay the charity a set amount for each of the vehicles donated.

To make sure that you are dealing with a trustworthy charity, you should ask what they are planning to do with your vehicle. If they plan to sell your car, will they use a broker or not? You should also ask if the charity is receiving a large amount of the selling price, so that you know how much of the money will go directly to the cause you are trying to support. Your best choice is a charity that is collecting a percentage of the sales price, rather than the per-car flat fee.

About the Author:

Daniel Richards has an interest in Automobile related topics. To access more information on car donation or on donating car to charity, please click on the link.

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The internet has been such a blessing in so many ways to those that have taken the plunge and accepted the fact that it is the future and have jumped on board and started using it to their advantage such as people wanting to donate cars online. There are so many ways that it brings all of the necessary services that you normally would have to either take a personal day to take care of during the work day and/or drive across town or the country to accomplish without on the internet capabilities.

So what are some of the advantage of online car donating? Well, for one thing there is the convenience of donating in your own home and ability to communicate easily with the charity that only comes with continuous connectivity that you get with the World Wide Web. But isn’t it too risky to make such a large donation over the internet, especially with all of the fraudulent charity activity in the world today? This is a real concern that many people have, and one that I want to address as well as offer many offsetting bonuses of choosing to “donate cars on the internet.”

The question then is, “is the risk of making the donation on the internet less than the benefits that you gain?” My answer is a quick and resounding YES! Let me first dispel the myth that the internet lacks the safety and security necessary to exchange private financial information that you need to purchase something on the internet as serious as a vehicle. You must understand now that the technology is presently online to insure that you can do business including the necessary exchange of sensitive information over the internet. So there is really no difference in security whether you choose to donate car off the lot or on the internet.

What then are the advantages of choosing to donate car via the internet that supersede the risk of not being able to personally check the car and see it with your own two eyes? Well there is the amazingly powerful advantage of searching for the right charity which saves you time and therefore money and lots of it. There are also systems set up to on the internet reduce fraud and cheating that are not necessarily available when buying cars, especially from private donators. There are licenses that certify the credibility of the charity. There are also systems set up that hold charities accountable for misinformation, and it is now becoming more and more popular to offer receipts which official tax credit numbers.

About the Author:

Julee Mitchelsin loves the idea of helping those who can’t help themselves by taking the time to donate car to a charity. If you want to take advantage of a wonderful opportunity than please visit www.donatecartimes.info

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Cars and other vehicles can be donated at any time of the year, from anywhere in the United States. You can donate to a local charity or a national charity with a local branch or to a national charity and its car donation program.

If you're planning on taking a tax deduction from your vehicle donation make sure to allow plenty of time to gather together all of the documents you'll need and for the transfer of the vehicle to take place.

You want to make sure the entire process takes place in the tax year that you want the write-off on your income tax return.

After you complete the application form, the charity can collect your vehicle, usually within 14 days, or if agreed, you can deliver the vehicle yourself and save the charity any towing costs.

All major charitable organizations have local sources that will pick up your vehicle.

Make sure you allow enough time to find the title to your car, truck or other vehicle or to replace it if you can't find it. Your DMV could take up to a month to get you a new title. Make sure to find out how long it will take in your first inquiry.

If you think your vehicle is worth more than $500, find out if you will need a new appraisal before you transfer titles.

When you donate your vehicle, the charity will probably sell it or in some cases give it to a needy individual or family.

If your car is valued at more than $500 and the charity sells your car you'll need to ask for a confirmation of the sale in writing.

The car donation charity is required to send you confirmation of the sale within 30 days after it sells your car.

You may want to donate your vehicle through a national car donation program that represents several charitable organizations. Many of these are available online.

Some national car donation programs will collect just about any vehicle and some will collect only vehicles that are in running condition. If the vehicle is not running and cannot be repaired cheaply enough, they will 'part it out' and sell the parts for the best possible price.

Some of the charities have high overhead costs for their car donation programs which means less money goes to their programs and services.

If you want to find out how much money from your car donation sale is going to the charity for its program and how much is going to administrative costs, then check with your state's Secretary of State's office or Attorney General's office for their state registration and financial filings.

Before you donate your car, make sure you check with your CPA or other financial advisor to make sure you're getting the tax deduction you want or if there is anything else you will need to know for your tax return.

Check with the Better Business Bureau for the city the charity is located in to make sure there are no complaints on file that haven't been taken care of.

Make sure to check with your Attorney General's office to make sure the charity is registered as a 501(c) 3.

Following these tips should help make your car donation go much smoother.

About the Author:

For more info on choosing the best charity car donation, car donation program, used car donation or charitable car donation online and offline go to http://www.Car-Donation-Info.com for charity and tax deduction tips, help, facts, reviews, including information on all types of car donation

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Donating a car to charity can seem like the easy part of the equation. Choosing a charity to donate to on the other hand isn't always so simple. Two popular choices for car donations are the American Cancer Society and Father Joe's Villages. You know that both do great work in the community but suppose they are both your favorite picks for their car donation programs. You only have one car. How do you decide which is best?

Both the American Cancer Society and Father Joe's Villages are worthy recipients of donations. In fact, both organizations would willingly tell a benefactor that either charity will make good use of any donated auto. A person who decides to donate to either charity should make sure, however, that the donation is going to be used for the designated organization. The best way to do this is to deal directly with either the American Cancer Society or Father Joe's Villages. Using a third party for charitable car donations can mean that the charity will not receive the full value of the contribution.

Some charities may claim that every penny received goes to the benevolent works of the foundation. But this is not possible as all charities have running costs which they need to fund. The American Cancer Society and Father Joe's Villages are registered charities whose financial statements can be investigated through the Attorney General of any state. If you want to know exactly what percentage of their donated funds these charities use for expenses contact either the charities direct or your state Attorney General.

Given that the American Cancer Society and Father Joe's Villages are both reputable charities that abide by federal rules for charitable car donations, are there any factors that make one of the charities a better place for your auto donation? The main difference between the programs of the American Cancer Society and Father Joe's Villages is that Father Joe's allows you to designate the charitable function to which the proceeds from your donation will be given.

As mentioned in the beginning, the decision to donate your car to charity can be the easiest facet of the whole arrangement. You only have one car so you have to make a choice. The most important thing is that you feel comfortable with your choice. In the final analysis it may be worth your while to visit both charities and get a first hand view on which is the best fit for you. That way you'll be able to see for yourself the work they do and which resonates more strongly with you.

About the Author:
J Brennan is passionate about cars and supporting worthwhile charities. Car donations combines his two favorite things and he is eager to share his knowledge about both. Get comprehensive information on how to go about donating your car to charity

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Do you have a used car that you do not drive anymore? That old vehicle may be filling up and using up so much space in your garage. No matter how you assess it, you cannot think of any other good use you can have for the old car. Did you know that you can make them more useful? Why not consider car donation?

For quite some time, car donation has been a good and widely adopted practice. There have been numerous car owners who face the problem of disposing their old cars. Selling can be a good option but doing so may incur additional and costly charges in the form of taxes.

You do not want your old auto to fill the junk shops do you? Through auto donation, you are helping charities and institutions get on and raise further funding for the humanitarian initiatives.

There are still other reasons why owners of old cars would rather do car donation these days. The government is offering hefty and attractive tax breaks for every car donation.

While it is true that you would not generate any income or revenue from donating your car to a charitable institution, some people still are not aware that auto donation is rewarded by the government through the appealing tax incentives given to donors.

If you decide to take a car donation initiative, you surely would be able to save on taxes. As you know, every car donation has specific and appropriate procedures. The most usual is that you fill out forms and provide basic documentary information and details to the charitable institution, which would be your car donation's beneficiary.

Those documents would not only facilitate voluntary surrender of ownership. Such documents also act as information source for the procedure of tax incentives to be provided to the donor.

Think about it. You are entering into a win-win situation when you decide to go to a car donation procedure. You are filling up a noble role of helping out other people in dire need, while at the same time you are helping yourself generate huge savings through the tax break package provided with the car donation transaction.

If you are planning to donate an old car, it is time you start the procedure by calling up different charitable institutions of your choice. There are numerous charities to choose from. You may choose by sticking to an advocacy, say assistance for cancer patients or funding aged care centers.

By communicating with such charities you would be instructed on the right an appropriate procedure on how to get on with your car donation.

What's more? Car donation is now made more convenient. You may not need to drive the old car to the charity. Personnel would be sent by the institution to pick up or tow the car.

All you have to do is to wait for those people, surrender your key and accomplish the necessary documentary papers. After that, you are all set to voluntarily transfer the ownership of your old car to the chosen charity.

About the Author:

Alex Baumm, CarClubTalk Car Forum member. With the high taxes imposed to citizens these days, the hefty tax break to be generated from the Car Donation certainly would be a lot of breather for you. Donate a car, save on taxes. Find tips on Car Purchase at our car forums.

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If you are planning to donate your vehicle to your selected charity consider these facts before you donate your vehicle.

These facts help you to get a hassle free transaction with a greater benefit to your selected charitable organization. Many people wonder what to do with their vehicle which is there unused from a couple of months. This is a very common condition when you suddenly buy a new vehicle and don't require the old one or the one which you are presently driving needs replacement.

In such case donating the vehicle for the work of charity makes out to be the best thing you could do with your old vehicle. Donating your vehicle to the charity helps the charity do many important works for our community, the needy and the disabled.

Fact#1
Donating a vehicle is indeed a great value you add to your vehicle and get the satisfaction of helping the society. It is a way of showing you care and giving something back to the society.

Fact#2
Vehicle donation can be done to any non profit charity across the United States and the vehicles to be donated can include cars, trucks, SUV's, RV's, trailers, boats, motorcycle, Vans etc.

Fact#3
For a greater benefit of the charity you have selected to donate your vehicle to, ensure that your vehicle is in running condition which will fetch more value to your vehicle.

Fact#4
Most of the charities accept both running and non running vehicles but for the later one the potential value is first estimated. Give clear information to the organization about the make and condition of your vehicle.

Fact#5
Your vehicle received by the charity as a part of donation is sold in an auction where the highest bidder gets the vehicle and the charity the money which it can use for a noble cause.

Fact#6
You are entitled to get some tax benefits by donating your vehicle. Generally, the amount you may deduct for a vehicle contribution depends upon what the charity does with the vehicle. Charities typically sell donated vehicles. If the vehicle is sold by the charitable organization, the deduction claimed by the donor usually may not exceed the gross proceeds from the sale.

For more information on tax benefits on vehicle donations see Publication 526, Charitable Contributions, Publication 561,Determining the Value of Donated Property, and Publication 4303, A Donor's Guide to Car Donations, available on IRS.gov

The Vehicle Donation Program helps support the services the charities provide in communities across America.

Your vehicle donation not only helps you but it helps the needy to a great deal. And every time you remember that you have donated a vehicle for a noble cause you will have the satisfaction of contributing something to the community.

Author Resource:- Give a true gift this year with a vehicle donation to your favorite charity. Learn the facts, find a charity and find out about tax deductions from vehicle-donation.us.

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There are many nonprofit charitable organizations that accept car donations. Some of the vehicles are broken apart for parts, while some are used as part of a ?wheels to work? program that provides transportation to help people get to work. Other nonprofit organizations will sell your donated car and use the proceeds from the sale of your vehicle to fund important job training and employment programs for people with disabilities and other disadvantaged conditions that keep them from being successful in the workplace.

In the past, you were able to donate a vehicle and receive tax credit for the fair market value of the vehicle you donated. A new law that took effect January 1, 2005 changed the tax deduction process to make it harder to claim the full value of your donated vehicle. Today, the new law states that you will only be able to deduct the proceeds the charity gets from the sale of the car minus the cost of necessary repairs. The charity must provide the donor written acknowledgement of receipt of the vehicle, as well as the sale price of the vehicle. This could be problematic because the sale price of the car will be significantly less than the true market value of the vehicle. Charitable organizations disapprove of this new law because it will discourage many potential donors, thus hurt the charity. However, it should not discourage potential donors if the charity is their favorite nonprofit, and they know that they are truly helping people get back on their feet. A tax- deduction is nothing compared to helping someone in need.

The only way to deduct the full fair market value of your vehicle is if the charity does not sell your donated vehicle. It the charity uses your vehicle for a program like ?wheels to work? and acknowledges your donation in writing, you can claim the full fair market value.

Car Donations provides detailed information on Car Donations, Used Car Donations, Charity Car Donations, Car Donation Tax Deduction and more. Car Donations is affiliated with Donate a Used Vehicle.

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