Where Did Your Car Donation Go

So you have made the decision to donate your old car to charity. Once donated, your car can have several things happen to it. The charity that you donate it to will decide how to process the donation based on the general condition of the car and operating order. Each charity will have different procedures they use to get the most value from your donated vehicle. You can check with the charity you are considering to determine what they plan to do with your donation.

Despite the condition of your donation you will have a bit of planning to do before donating your car. First, you are responsible for determining the fair market value of your donation. In 2005, in the USA, the law changed so now it is up to the vehicle owner to determine what it is worth. The owner must also have written documentation for the appraisal to justify the value when asking for a tax receipt from the charity.

If you are interested in claiming the car donation on your taxes you will need to know if the donation is valued at more than $500 or less. You will need to obtain additional information from the charity if the value of the car is more than $500. You must determine if the vehicle qualifies as a tax deductible donation. Most vehicles legal for public roads qualify to be tax exempt when donated. Also determine if the charity you are donating to has tax exempt status. Most educational and religious organizations will be tax exempt. Calling the charity and asking is often the best way to determine this.

Now that you have all the pre pick up paper work complete you are able to arrange for your donation to be picked up. Depending where you live this can be handled in a few ways. If the charity is near your home and your car operates you can drive it to the local charity and save them the cost of having it removed by a towing company.

Again, if the car you donated runs the charity may send a driver to the vehicle location and drive it away. This also saves them the cost of having it towed.

Of course if your car doesn’t operate the charity will send a tow truck to the location and remove the vehicle. Most of the time the charity will send a registered tow truck company over to the location to haul the car away. In other instances the charity itself will have their own towing service. In either case you may need to provide the driver with the car title before they haul it away. This will also limit you from any liability since you are no longer the registered owner. Discuss this with the charity when you arrange for the pick up.

After your car is hauled away a number of things can happen depending on the condition of the vehicle. If the vehicle is in good shape the charity will have a mechanic inspect the donation and give it a pass if it meets safety standards. Any vehicle that passes inspection will either be sold at auction with the proceeds being used to support their organization. It may also be donated to a family in need that the charity supports. If it fails the inspection the mechanic will provide details of what need fixing. The charity will decide if is worth fixing the vehicle.

Those vehicles that are not road worthy or cost too much to repair will be striped for any valuable parts and the remainder will be send to the scrape yard. The parts of the vehicle will be separated and recycled. The steel from the frame and body panels will be sold off as scrap iron. The charity receives the proceeds from the recycling facility less the fee for processing the donation.

If you are donating a car that has sentimental value and you don’t want it to end up as scrap you can talk with the charity in advance. The vehicle will either need to be in good working order before the charity gets the donation or be cost effective for them to fix it.

Donating a car is simple and goes a long way to helping charities in need. Knowing the steps involved to get rid of your old junker can help make the process go smoothly.


Copied with permission from: http://plrplr.com/6317/where-did-your-car-donation-go/

Car Donation Facts For You

Donating money and good is a great way to help out worthy causes while still helping yourself out on your taxes. Car donation is no different. Even though some of the car donation tax laws changed a few years back, this is still a great way to help yourself and others. So if you have an old car and just aren’t quite sure what to do with it, then consider a charitable donation of your vehicle.

As of 2005, the laws for car donation changed. For motor vehicles, boats, and airplanes that are valued at more than $500, things are a bit different than before. The allowable amount of the deduction is now limited to whatever amount the charity sells it for. The charity to which your car donation is made is required to provide you with written acknowledgement of your donation within 30 days of you making it. If the charity provides any false or exaggerated acknowledgement, they can be penalized.

As of the first of January in 2005, when you make a car donation, the tax write off is based on how the charity uses your donated car. If it is sold, you can deduct the gross sale price. If, on the other hand, the charity uses the car for what the new law calls “significant” tax-approved work of charity, you would be able to claim the market value of the vehicle. Again, however, there are stiff penalties for falsified documents.

Some of the charities, despite acknowledging that the old laws had problems, are skeptical of the new car donation laws. Many of these organizations are concerned about what will happen when the tax deduction responsibility is put in the hands of the charities rather than the donors. A group of them actually sent a letter to the Treasury Secretary suggesting that people may be discouraged from donating when they are unaware of their deduction amount. Not being able to weigh the cost to the benefit of donation may discourage some auto donations.

If you do choose to make a car donation, you will find that the process is very easy. Most charities that offer to take your vehicle will have information on line or via phone about it. In many cases, in fact, you can fill out the appropriate forms on line to get the process underway. You also will likely not even have to be home and the vehicle may not even need to be in working condition. Many charities will come and toe your car away if you can simply leave the title under a floor mat along with the key and put it somewhere accessible. As soon as the car is sold, you will receive a document in the mail letting you know how much you can write off of your taxes, legally.

Since many charities rely on donations of all sorts: clothing, cars, money, and even appliances, think about what you are doing when you make an auto donation. By donating your vehicle, you are helping out a worthy cause of your choice. In addition, you are helping yourself out. Sure, the tax laws have changed, but you can still benefit from your donation. The car doesn’t have to run to be eligible, so your write off might still be more than selling it for junk. So feel good about yourself, help your tax line, and get rid of that old junker by donating your car.


Copied with permission from: http://plrplr.com/24612/car-donation-facts-for-you/

Charity Car Donation Steps To Take

You can donate your car to a wide range of charity organizations, but picking the most representative ones requires getting some previous information. So before actually donating your car, make sure you get some relevant info about the charity organization, its purposes, projects and usage of your car. You might find out that there are various organizations that have different goals and you will probably find, among them, a great cause and possibility to donate your car to something meaningful. Even more, make sure that your car is going to go to an eligible organization that is serious in its acts and has valid previous work. In order to be sure, speaking directly with the charity agents is the safest way to go. In fact, the IRS requests that the donors are aware of the type of the fundraiser society they choose. When talking to the charity representatives, the most important information regards the exact usage of your car, if it will be sold, fixed up, offered to the less fortunate people and so on. Besides these, you should check up if the charity organization is qualified and in order to know that for sure, you can review the organization’s state registrations and financial situations, administrative costs and charitable programs.

Charitable donations and car evaluations

Another important thing before donating your car is evaluating it in a correct way. There are various guides on the market that offer elaborate instructions, in order to establish the valid value of your car, depending on its general condition, accessories, age and mileage. After making sure that you selected the correct charitable organization and the optimum evaluation, you should be aware of the fact that you are required to complete and attach an IRS form to your tax return, in case you are claiming a car donation that values 500 $ or above. Donating a used car to charity is a great solution if you are planning to purchase a new car or if you are simply willing to contribute to a charitable activity. Knowing and following some steps before the actual car donation avoids further worries, as it makes the process a safe and fulfilling one.

Are there any hidden facts about used car donation that I should be aware of?

First of all, not every used car donation programs are functioning legally. Before you make your used car donation, you should check with the IRS if the charity is a non-profit organization listed under paragraph 501 (c) (3) in the IRS Publication 78.

Secondly, check out if the used car donation program is run in-house by the charity itself or by a third party. If a third party is operating the used car donation program, you should ask what percent of the profit made by selling the donated cars actually goes to the charity. Often, third-party operated used car donation programs produce small amounts of money for the charity. Smaller charities do not afford the costs of transportation and storage for the donated cars, not to mention the costs involved in charity auctions. This is the main reason why charities accept to have their used car donation programs run buy third-party brokers.