A Car Donation is donating your old vehicle to charity and a way of getting rid of it at the same time.  Charitable institutions use car donations as a means to raise funds to support their causes.  If you go through a car donation services for this procedure, this service is either directly involved in charitable activities or is in contact with a charitable institution.  But either way, car donation proceeds go to the less privileged individuals or families. 

If you are looking for a way to get rid of an old car and is looking up on Car Donations to do so, the first question you will probably ask is why you should donate your car.  Why not just sell the car yourself?  Here are some of the important reasons why you should donate your car.

1.       Easy Way of Getting Rid of an Old Property.  When you buy a new car, getting rid of your old one can sometimes prove to be a hassle.  With car donation services, getting rid of your old car will be as easy as one-two-three.  After calling a car donation services through their toll free number, you car will be picked up within 24 to 48 hours.  Then every process that needs to be done to sell or assign the car to a needy family or individual will be taken cared of by the car donation services.  Getting rid of an old car will never be this easy.

2.       Avoid Fraudulent Transactions.  The most important thing in selling a car is making sure that you get paid and this is unfortunately sometimes not the case.  Channeling the disposal of your old property through car donation services will avoid you the possibility of transacting with people involved with fraudulent transactions.  You will surely be assured that your car is paid for, if not used by charity.

3.       Tax Deduction.  The IRS allows tax deductions from a car donation.  According to the federal tax legislation governing car donations, the gross amount from the sale of the car is an allowable tax deduction. 

4.       No Messy Paper Works.  Selling a car involves too much paper work, from the title, receipt and the deed.  Preparing these documents alone can be a daunting task.  But if you donate your car, you will not have to deal with all the messy paper work.  The car donation services that you contact will take care of them for you.  All you have to do is hand in the title and wait for the receipt and necessary documents for your tax deductions.

5.       A Great Way to Help the Needy.  The proceeds from a car donation go to families and individuals that are in need of assistance.  The charitable institutions also sometimes use the car themselves for their work.  But either way, donating a car is certainly a great way to help those in need.

6.       Cost-free.  Selling the car yourself entails advertising or refurbishing the car to increase the chances of it being sold immediately.  On the other hand, a car donation will cost nothing to the donating party.  The car donation services that will handle your car donation will shoulder all the expenses of selling your car and any necessary refurbishing.

A car donation is simply the easiest way of ditching an old car.  But before you contact a car donation services, it will be best to check their accreditation so that you are sure that your car donation proceeds goes to charity.  To do this, check if your chosen car donation service is a certified 501(c) (3) charity organization.

Is selling an old car too much of a problem for you?  Then, you may want to consider a car donation to charity.  A car donation will eliminate all your problems with selling your old car.  This will mean no more advertisement, looking for buyers, entertaining endless of possible buyers and paperwork.  If you haven’t tried other means of getting rid of an old car aside from selling, you will probably ask why a car donation to charity is a better option.

First and foremost, you help those in need when you make a car donation to charity A car donation services will usually handle your car donation to charity.  These services may not be directly involved in charitable activities themselves but may only act as an intermediary for a charitable institution.  Your car donation to charity may be handled in two ways:  (1) sold at an auction in which the proceeds go to charitable institutions to be used in their causes and (2) used directly charitable institutions in their operations.  In any way, a car donation to charity is a great help to those who are in desperate need of assistance.

Secondly, a car donation to charity will save you from the tedious tasks involved in ditching your car.  Car donation services make a car donation to charity as convenient and easy as possible for you. They pick-up your car within 24 to 48 hours after you contact them and handle the necessary paperwork.  Moreover, a car donation to charity will also save you from exposure to fraudulent activities.  Selling your car will require that you exchange your car for currency but this may not always be the case specifically if the individual you transact with pays you with a bad check.  You not only loose your car, you also loose the possible monetary benefit that comes from selling it.

Selling expenses are also one of the things that you avoid with a car donation to charity.  When you sell your car, you will have to pay for advertisement or refurbishing to increase the chances of it being sold immediately.  With a car donation to charity however, you avoid spending any money.  Car donation services accept any type of vehicle in any condition.  If they see that donated cars need to be fixed or refurbished for them to be in good running condition, they do so and shoulder the expenses themselves.

Lastly, a car donation to charity will give you the benefit of a tax break.  The federal tax legislation governing car donations will allow you a tax deduction from your car donation to charity.  A tax deduction equivalent to the gross sales amount not exceeding $500 is allowed.  The gross sales amount is only limited to $500 since cars are usually sold at auctions for $200-$500.  However, there may be instances when the allowable tax deduction exceeds $500 and this is when the fair market value is used. According to the revised tax legislation on car donations, the fair market value of a car donation to charity can be used if (1) improvements are done on the car and (2) when the car is used directly in charitable causes.

With all the benefits you can get from a car donation to charity, it is no doubt one of the wisest decisions to make.  It is even better than selling your car.  But before you contact a car donation services, you may want to look for a 501 (c) (3) charity organization classification.  This classification would ensure that the car donation service has a legal personality.

Look around the yard, do you have an old car you want to or should get rid of? Is the car just taking up precious space and slowly deteriorating from lack of maintenance and proper care because you don’t need it? Then for you a charitable car donation may be worth more than using the car as a trade-in or in any other way. If you decide to donate a car and the car donation is accepted, the charity arranges for and takes care of any towing expenses and provides you with the necessary documents for your tax return.

Donating a car eliminates the expense of any advertising, the loss of privacy and possible security risk from potential buyers. No need to pay for annual vehicle registration and/or emissions testing or insurance, and no need for any repairs to keep your car in running condition while you wait for a buyer. It’s easy, just fill out the forms the charity gives you and have them ready for the driver when he comes to pick up the car. A large chunk of your car donation money when it’s received by the charity after they sell the vehicle, should not taken out for administrative fees or investments. Make sure to find out how much of your donation money goes for these fees.

Your car, truck, RV, boat, aircraft or other vehicle is usually marketed by the charity through various means including their own car lots and middlemen and sold to a buyer who is in need of a good used vehicle. If you’re thinking about donating your automobile to charity, be sure to check out thoroughly the charity or car donation program that handles the donation. Certain commercial firms and trade organizations publish guides known as ‘blue books,’ that state the average resale prices based on the model and year of your vehicle. You can find these blue books at your library in the reference section or online.

If your auto, truck, boat, motorcycle, RV or other vehicle is no longer of use to you, it can still go a long way toward helping support a reputable charity of your choice. Best of all, by not selling the car yourself, you don’t have to worry or wonder about total strangers calling you and getting information about where you live, or coming to your house to see the car or other vehicle.

Charities don’t need to send you a form for cars that eventually sell for less than $500, but you’ll still be able to deduct up to $500 on your tax return.

If it’s necessary to go through a car donation program middleman, which you can find online, find out what percentage of your donation will go to charity and shop around for the best deal. There are a quite a few of them online.

As for your benefits, you as the donor of the car benefits from the donation by receiving a tax receipt for the highest possible value of the vehicle.

Make sure you have easy access to the title of the vehicle. If you have an unused vehicle just sitting around, you never know when a storm might cause damage to your vehicle or if it might get vandalized or if it’s on the street get involved in an accident. Some charities that run their own program, instead of hiring a car donation program middleman, are discriminating about which vehicles they will accept, repair and materially improve. They sell most of their vehicles at retail prices. One thing to note, your vehicle must have all four of its tires inflated to be accepted.

Important, one of the exceptions to the new IRS tax regulations allows donors to still deduct the fair market value of their vehicle, provided the charity materially improves the vehicle. Charities usually provide you with a release of liability when they take your vehicle away. After the car sells, they send you a tax-deduction form that explains how much they received for your car.

Charities look at car donations from both the point of view of the donor of the car and of themselves as the charity receiving it. You can get a car donation tax deduction up to the maximum limits allowed by the IRS. You may also donate your car online to individual charities or through the car donation programs, some of which contract with charities.

It used to be able that you could deduct the fair market value of the vehicle at the time of the deduction – but not anymore. In wear and tear, minor repairs and breakdowns, an average vehicle owner might spend more than $3000 per year so a good reason not to keep the extra car around. In the end the donor is responsible to an extent to ascertain the value of their car donation after discussing with the charity.

A charity car donation is becoming more common as people discover the nice car donation tax deduction that is available. Choosing the best charity for your car donation can be overwhelming and you want to make sure your choice is the best and right choice for you. Why not donate your car, truck, boat, RV, motorcycle or even aircraft today and enjoy a nice car donation tax deduction on your annual income tax return.