Donating a Car to Charity

A charity that uses a donated vehicle for transportation or hauling goods obviously benefits directly from such a donation. However, in many cases the cars will be sold en masse, either by the charity itself or by a dealer to raise funds for the charity. In the case of a dealer, the charity generally receives a flat fee per car, sometimes as little as $45 per car.

Listed below are AIP's tips to donors who would like to donate a car to charity. Legislation in 2004 limits the donor's tax deductions for car donations to the price at which the charity sold the car.

• Make sure the charity is eligible to receive tax deductible contributions. Ask for a copy for your records of the organization’s IRS letter of determination which verifies its tax exempt status.
• Be sure that you get a receipt from the charity for your car donation.
• Be aware that non-cash donations are one of the most common triggers to an audit by the IRS, so you’ll want to document the value of the car and keep records of it.
• If the car is worth more than $500, the donor must complete Section A of IRS Form 8283 and attach it to their tax return. Donors are required to file with his/her tax return a written acknowledgement from the charity. If the charity sells the car, the charity must provide the donor with a certification that the car was sold at "arms length" between unrelated parties and the sale price of the car within 30 days. In this case, the donor's tax deductions will be limited to the total amount the charity sold the car for. If the charity does not sell the car, it must provide the donor with a receipt within 30 days of the sale. The charity may also be required to provide certification to the donor stating how it plans to use or improve the car and stating that it promises not to sell or transfer the car. Penalties are imposed on charities that provide fraudulent acknowledgements to donors.
• If the car is worth $5,000 or more, an independent appraisal is necessary. The donor must also fill out Section B of IRS Form 8283. For cars worth less than $5,000, use the Kelley Blue Book, the Hearst Black Book, or a guide from the National Auto Dealers Association (NADA) to determine the market value. Make sure you use the correct figure for the date, mileage, and condition of your car. Picking the highest figure for your car model and year without taking into account other factors may not pass muster with the IRS.
• Take pictures of the car and save receipts for new tires or other upgrades to verify its value.
• Remember, it is the donor, not the charity, who is obligated to value the car and who will pay the penalties if an IRS challenge finds your figure inaccurate.

For comprehensive information of donating a vehicle, see the IRS' guide to car donations here.

Goodwill Auto Donation

Public auctions are held at Ohio Valley Goodwill's main headquarters located in Woodlawn at 10600 Springfield Pike. Car preview times are Fridays from 3-6 PM and from 8-9 AM on Saturday. This is your chance to ask questions, or get a closer look at the vehicle. Staff will be available to assist you. The auction begins promptly at 9 AM on Saturday.

Bidders must pre-register. A valid drivers license or photo identification will need to be presented to obtain a permanent bidders number.

Effective May 1, 2004, Goodwill's Auto Auction requires that potential bidders provide a $100 cash deposit and fill out a registration form, as well as sign a terms and conditions report, before being assigned a bid number. If the bidder does not win a bid on the car, the bidder would receive his/her $100 deposit back at the end of the auction, when the bidder number is returned. If the bidder wins the bid, the bidder can choose to apply the $100 toward the vehicle purchase or pay for the car and receive the $100 deposit back.

Payment for vehicles is required at time of purchase. Goodwill accepts cash, checks, MasterCard, Discover Card and VISA.

For additional information regarding Goodwill's Auto Auction's policies and procedures, contact us by phone at 513-612-5980 or E-mail Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries at: kmasters@cincigoodwill.org.

Donate Vehicles to Charity

Donating vehicles to charity seems to benefit everyone involved. If you are the donor, you get a chance to dispose of your old car, do some good, and get a tax deduction in the process. If you used an agent, he would also make some money out of the sale of your car. Of course, the main benefactor is the charity. However, how much do they really benefit from car donations?

According to studies, charities usually receive as little as five percent or less of the reported value of a donated vehicle. Usually, this happens because of other deductions from the sale of the car used to pay for advertising, towing, improving the condition of the car and processing documents. Some charities also agree to take a flat fee for a donated vehicle no matter what its market value is.

If you are considering donating vehicles to charity, be careful in employing car donation agents. Many are out to assist you in donating vehicles to charity for the purpose of profit. Some devise ways on how to resell the donated car for much more after selling them at auctions for a meager amount.

What you can do is search for charities that accept vehicle donations without using the services of intermediaries. These charities will process the necessary paperwork for you. However, you should still practice caution when donating vehicles to charity directly. Many companies disguise themselves as charities soliciting car donations and eventually selling the donated cars and keeping the profits.

The prevalence of such frauds in car donation programs gave rise to new laws concerning donating vehicles to charity. The tax deduction that a donor will receive is limited to the gross amount that the charity received. Charities that sell donated cars should provide donors with a written notice containing the gross sale amount of the donated car if it is valued at $500 or higher. On the other hand, charities that use donated vehicles in their operations should provide the donor with a written guarantee of how the charity intends to use the car donation and for how long.

When donating vehicles to charity, you should always check that the organization is registered and legitimate. To ensure that your donation will truly benefit the charity, your best option is to donate your car to an organization that can make full use of it in their operations. Look for charities in your local area or ask them for help in locating charities that may have a need for an old car for transportation, deliveries and errands.

Charity Car Donations

Term “Charity Car Donations” is self explanatory about the aim of the donation. When you want to donate large amount on charity donations ‘charity car donation’ gives you one of the best options. Vehicles received by charity groups and non-profiting organizations are used for providing assistance to need and helpless people. You can sponsor a new car or donate your used car for this purpose.

Why Charity Car donation?

Charity car donation provides you an opportunity to serve the needy people. You may think that this opportunity is your moral duty towards mankind. You should not think that charity car donation means only cars will be accepted as donation. Some organizations accept other vehicles like trucks, vans, trailers and boat as donations. These donations are basically used for the purpose they are meant for like vans are converted into ambulance etc. Some vehicles are given to professional auctioneer for selling it and proceeds received from such auction are submitted for the cause of charity.

Charity car donation is easy and hassle free procedure. Very less administrative formalities are involved in this donation scheme. You can get rid of administrative formalities which you otherwise would have to do if you sell your vehicle in the market. Your vehicle may turn into junk if it is not running for years. That means you have to face the problem of disposing of the vehicle. This problem is solved by donating your vehicle for the charity. You also get financial benefit like tax deduction on your income equal to proceeds of the sold donated vehicle. Charity group which accept the vehicle also gets additional benefits from sell of your vehicle which otherwise would have yield lesser price in the market. The most important benefit you get from donating your vehicle to charity is satisfaction of helping needy people.

How to donate car to charity

If you are determined to donate your vehicle for charity car donation you can select an organization or charity group for the purpose. Your can select an organization or group through internet or through local media. Generally, the groups involved in this type of activity are genuine but there may be some companies who practice fraud. To overcome this difficulty you have to examine the reliability and reputation of the company. Once you select the group or organization of your choice you have to intimate them accordingly. To avoid malpractices in charity car donation procedures, government has laid down certain rules. You must be aware of these rules before making donations.

Target Car Donation to Your Favorite Type of Charity

You have convinced yourself that you are not going to give another used car of yours to a freeloading relative. You know you don't want to go through the hassle of trying to sell your car yourself, and to trade it in is just a mere drop in the bucket when you compare the cost of the new car you wish to buy. The only option left is to target car donation to your favorite charity.

Car donation target is to get the most money they can for the car that has been donated. There are many charities that are looking to target car donation to their particular cause, and you can do some research in all the different causes you may donate to.

There are medical charities that treat childhood diseases and diseases that don?t get much publicity, car donation target may be for those who are disabled or mentally challenged. You may find a car donation target charity that wants to outfit a qualified child in the sport of their choice in order to give them self confidence and the joys of working with a group for a common goal.

You may know someone who made mistakes in their life such as drug or alcohol abuse. You may want to target car donation to charities that are dedicated to helping such people who have been down on their luck and want to turn their lives in a new direction.

Many charities will be able to sell your used car at auction and use the proceeds to further their goals. When you look to target car donation to a certain charity, learn about the process to ensure that the charity is giving more money to those they are claiming to help than to the organization that is collecting the money.

When you target car donation for your favorite charity, it can be any number of causes that you feel passionate about. Research the ones with the best prospects and decide how many people will benefit directly when you target car donation to a specific charity.

Car donation

Car donation is the practice of giving away no-longer-wanted automobiles to charity organizations. In the United States, charitable donations provide a tax benefit; as such, this type of giving has become very popular. For values less than $500, the value of the tax deduction comes from the donor's own estimate of the car's value, even if the charity receives less money from actually selling the car. Deductions for donations over this amount are limited to the sale amount of the vehicle (usually at auction). Some critics have claimed that this is essentially a tax shelter. However, non-profit organizations in the US have come to rely increasingly upon the revenue from car donations. This type of donation has become increasingly widespread in the U.S.; in 2000, 733,000 taxpayers reduced their taxes by $654 million.

Many charities run donation programs. Some have their own car lots which sell the donated cars but many have their donations processed through auto auction companies. Many processing companies also collect and sell donated cars and distribute the money to a charity the donor indicates. The processing company typically takes a percentage of the sale value of the car, but these programs allow charities without their own facilities or staff dedicated to automotive donation fund raising to benefit from vehicle donation programs.

Although advertised as an easy way to dispose of an old car, donors need to fulfill certain post-donation requirements to qualify for the tax deduction such as obtaining a written acknowledgment of the car's subsequent sale by the charity,[1] and itemizing instead of taking the standard deduction.[2] Ideally, donors should also investigate how much money from the sale of the car goes to the auction processor and how much actually benefits the charity's programs, as opposed to its administrative overhead.[3]