Do you have an old car that you want to get rid of by
donating to charity? By donating a car
to charity, you can avoid the hassle of trying to sell it your and you also get
a tax deduction. However, donating a car
may not be as easy as it seems. Before you
donating your car, be sure you do some research to make sure everything goes
smoothly in the donating process.
First off, you want to make sure the charity that you donate
to is legitimate. You can check websites
like the Better Business Bureau and Charity Navigator to check out the
charity. You want to avoid middlemen
because they are typically for-profit organizations. They keep more than 50 percent of the value
for themselves and the charities don’t get much of the value. If you plan on getting a deduction for your
car donation, you should make sure that the charity is an IRS
approved 501(c)(3) organization.
Typically, religious organizations such as churches and temples would
qualify. In order to get the deduction,
you will also need to present to the IRS the
value of the vehicle. Make sure you get
a receipt from the charity stating the amount of money that was made off the
vehicle if they sold it. If the charity
does not sell the vehicle and uses it, then you use a fair market value which
you can get from Kelley Blue Book.
When donating your car to a charity, make sure you keep all
copies of paperwork involved. Keep the
receipt from the charity and a copy of the title change. You will also need an independent appraisal
if the car was worth more than $5000. If
the car was worth more than $500, then you will have to use IRS
form 8283 when you file your taxes.
By doing some research you will save yourself a lot of
trouble down the road and you will also be able to get the maximum deduction
for your car.
