If you have a car that you think
would give you a good tax write off you may be wondering where to donate your
car. You can deduct up to $500 according to the newest tax law. Check with your
tax accountant or CPA to see if this has changed if you decide to go ahead.
First of all you want to make sure you have a car that can be donated.
There are a few ways to determine
that. In general your vehicle must be drivable. If not drivable and just needs
minor repairs it may still qualify depending on the car donation charity. The
condition of the car makes a lot of difference.
Vehicles that can be donated
include, cars, trucks, RVs, boats, motorcycles, ATVs, airplanes, etc. Just
about any vehicle can qualify for donation. Charities will need to be able to
put your car on their own car sales lot or the car sale lot of a car donation
charity broker that they hire.
Once you determine that your car, truck
or other vehicle. is in good enough condition to be denotable you'll want to
think about where you can donate it that will be best for you,
There are dozens of car donation
programs advertising on the Internet. And of course you'll find them advertising
in your local papers. But the thing to know is that many local and national
charities hire car donation brokers to handle their donations. These companies
take a big chunk of the profit. You want to be aware of this, because the
charity won't be getting all of the profit, if that's important to you. You may
just be more interested in getting the tax donation deduction.
The best way to avoid the large
brokers is to find out what local organizations are accepting car donations.
You can watch for advertisements or even call charities you think have these
programs. You want to ask them if they handle the sales of your car in-house or
if they farm it out to a company that does that for them.
Many charities choose to keep some
vehicles to help transport patients, clients or goods. Or they may decide to
give a vehicle to a disabled or needy client. If any of this matters to you
check this out with the charity as to how they'll use the car.
Car donation programs include:
Target Car Donation Program, Goodwill Industries Car Donation program, Kidney
Foundation, Make A Wish Foundation and many, many others. You'll find a lot of
smaller charities too. If you're not familiar with the charity check with the
Better Business Bureau to make sure the charity is credible.
If you have favorite charities call
them to see if they accept donations. This would be the way to start. Check
online to see where to donate your car and what car donation companies are
advertising and check out their websites or call them up to find out how to
donate your car including all the qualifications for the car and what you need
to know. All of these companies will supply you with the proper forms for
donation. You'll need to get the income tax forms yourself. You should check
with your CPA or accountant to make sure you'll benefit by the donation.
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