10 Tips To Donate Your Car For Charity

Seems so simple: donate your used vehicle or boat to charity, avoid kerepotan related to sales, and scores of tax cuts at the same time. Everybody wins, is not it?

Not necessarily. Like saying the word, the way he double hockey stick versa in good faith, and can be very easy to walk on the meaning of this well acted.

Before you give your greatest asset for everyone, read the following tips to ensure you make the correct move.

1. Avoid middlemen. Many non-intermediary organizations without profit beriklan aggressively on television, billboards and elsewhere, offer to help you donate your vehicle to charity. Here's the catch: These organizations typically keep about 50 percent to 90 percent of the value of the vehicle for themselves, and charities can not get what they get. To avoid this, check directly with charities you admire and see if they accept donations of car or boat.

2. Find a charity eligible. If you support charities that are generally not equipped to receive these gifts, do some chores before finding a charity reputable. You can find the track records online charities to this page through the Better Business Bureau and Charity Navigator.

3. Check the math. If you are always prompted to use an intermediary organization - perhaps because you're busy - at least ask how much a car body or the value of the boat will go to charity. If charities to provide only a fixed cost - say, $ 100 for a used car escaped from its value, or $ 2,000 per month - your donation may not meet the requirements of a tax deduction.

4. Know the condition of the recipient. While you're eligible for a reduction, charities that receive your gifts must be approved IRS 501 (c) (3) organization. Your church, synagogue, mosque or temple eligible in May. (Check first just to be sure.) You can also visit the Internal Revenue Service web pages and search for Publication 78 to find no other qualifying nonprofit organization. (Just ketik "78" into the search box on the homepage of the IRS and you will be directed to the publication right.)

5. Make the delivery themselves. Once you have identified the eligible charity, admits he will have to pay someone to download for your car or boat. To help maximize the benefits of charitable giving, you leave a car or boat from yourself.

6. Move the vehicle with caution. You want to eliminate any risk of running violations of parking tickets and other after you say goodbye to your donated vehicle? Then formally re-title the vehicle to charity, and report the transfer to the Department of Motor Vehicles and Licensing. Never agree to leave the property room for charitable donations of blank paper.

7. The approximate value of your contribution may not be deducted. If your car or boat is worth more than $ 500, IRS will want to see proof of how charities have for that. (Most charities that accept donations and sell them to turn the money.) You must obtain a receipt from the charity show exactly how much money is created.

8. Know when you can declare a reasonable market value. You do not need proof of the sale price of charity care if the vehicle or ship and use them in charity work, or if your donation is worth less than $ 500. Then you can declare the market value based on a reasonable listing of Kelley Blue Book and similar sources.

9.  Keep a thorough paper trail. If your donation worth $ 500, you must attach IRS Form 8283 to your tax return. If it's worth over $ 5,000, your documentation must include an external evaluation. You must also demonstrate the contribution, as the receipt of property titles and copies of the exchange.

10. Be careful. Impressions of this document may seem complicated, but consider this: This may be one of the largest charitable donations ever make. By taking the time to dot the i's, you can ensure that the charities that benefit the most and you get the greatest possible restraint.