Vehicle Donation Tax Deduction, How To Make Sure You Do It Right

Car Donations, Vehicle Donations, Truck Donations

You can donate your unwanted vehicle to charity no matter where you live. The tax deduction is also the same every where you live. But the way each state decides what is a legal charity and verifies that the charity is legitimate is different in almost every state. Unfortunately you'll find vehicle tax deduction scams in almost every state. Make sure that the charity you choose is legitimate. If you have any doubts call the , Better Business Bureau in your area and ask about the particular charity that you are thinking of donating your vehicle to. If you think you have been scammed and you've already donated the vehicle call the police and file a report.

And even legitimate charities can quite often not be 100 percent legal. They may have failed to file the necessary paper work in a particular state before they can take donations of vehicles. You will want to get a receipt for everything you donate to a charity. The receipt should list exactly what was donated, the declared value, and it should be signed by a official representative of the charity you are donating the vehicle to.And remember do your research. Ask the charity what happens to the vehicle you donate and what will the money from the sale of the vehicle be used for.

Make double sure that the charity you donate your vehicle to is legitimate and make sure you get a receipt. You want to receive your vehicle tax deduction so be sure that your vehicle goes to a legitimate charity. I know I keep cautioning you about making sure the charity you donate your vehicle to is legitimate because every year many illegal charities are set up to scam people on vehicle donations.

And I would suggest even thoroughly checking out even charities that are real because you may find that with some charities only a small percentage of the proceeds from the sale of your vehicle may go to the work of the charity. The rest may be took up in administrative costs so be sure to ask. And don't forget to ask the , Better Business Bureau in your area if you have any doubts at all. If you have suspicion that its a scam call the police.

You probably are wanting to donate your vehicle so you can get a vehicle tax deduction but you should also feel good about what you are doing and you hope that the money from the sale of your vehicle will go to a good cause so always ask questions. Write down your questions and have them ready when you call the charity to inquire about donating your vehicle.

You can go to the IRS website and download a PDF document called, A Donors Guide To Vehicle Donation. You can ask for it by asking for IRS Document 4303. You will find this guide from the IRS very helpful when donating your vehicle to charity. You will find this document will tell you exactly how to handle your vehicle donation and how to do it so you can take the vehicle donation tax deduction.

Where To Donate Your Car

In most states you can donate your car or tuck to

1. Goodwill Industries

2. The Salvation Army

3. Local Charities In Your Area

If you donate your car or truck to Goodwill Industries or the Salvation Army you can be sure that the money raised from the sale of the car or truck will go to the right place. I don't know about you but this is very important to me. I want to see that any money I donate to a charity goes for a good cause. Ask questions when you donate a car or a truck.

Do you have a story about donating your vehicle to charity. Please post your story below in the comments section and thanks for reading my hub page. Comments or questions are also welcome.Below are some great tips to follow when donating your car or truck to charity.

1. Make sure you donate directly to the charity. Don't donate through a business or organization because they may keep up to 50 - 60 percent of the cost of the vehicle. I would never donate to a third party middlemen type organization.

2. Make sure that the charity your donating your vehicle to is worthy. What are they going to use the money for that they get from the sale of your vehicle. How much of the money actually goes to the cause they are soliciting for. Ask plenty of questions and if they don't want to give you answers donate your car to a differnt organization.

3. Be sure that the donation is legal so that you will get the full tax deduction. Again ask questions.

4. In order for you to receive credit from the IRS the organization you donate the vehicle to must be a legal 501 c 3 charity. Ask to see a copy of their determination letter from the IRS. If they won't offer you proof of their status move on.

5. Deliver the vehicle to where it is going to be donated to yourself or you may find that it never went where it was supposed to. Many times people will pick up vehicles saying they are taking them to a charity only to sell the vehicles themselves for the junk value of the vehicle. There are all kinds of scams out there so be careful.

6. Be sure to sign the title of the vehicle over only to the charity organization that you are donating it to. Don't be talked into signing it over to an individual or the vehicle may end up some where else besides where you intended for it to go.

7. If your vehicle is worth over $500 the IRS is going to want to see proof of how much the charity organization got for it. You'll need a reciept from the charity showing exactly how much the charity ended up getting for the vehicle.

8. If the charity keeps the vehicle and uses it you won't have to furnish proof of how much they got for the vehicle so be sure to ask exactly what they are going to use your vehicle for.

9. Be sure that you create a paper work trail and that you keep a copy of all the paper work. This way you can offer proof to the IRS if they ever start asking you questions about the vehicle donation.

10. Don't be rushed or hurried when making the donation. If you dot all the i's and cross all the t's the charity organization will get the most value possible for the vehicle and you will get the value of your vehicle to claim on your taxes. Again keep a copy of any and all paper work.

What To Do If You've Been Deceived In Your Vehicle Donation.

Be sure to have a copy of all your paper work and you can call the IRS and your State Attorney General's office to report possible fraud. Keep a record of the persons name that you talk to and ask them when you can expect to hear back from them. Again try to keep copies of all paper work. Cover yourself so you can see here is my paper work and here is what I did.

I hope if you decide to donate your vehicle to charity that everything goes smooth and I want to thank you for reading my Hub Page on donating a vehicle to charity. Thanks.