Auto Donation Charity

Car Donation Charities

What about Tax Deductions for my auto donation?

Your auto, car, van, truck, RV, motorcycle or any vehicle donation helps comfort children in crisis.
Fast Nationwide Pickup for auto donation. Fastest auto donation pickup in California.

Auto Donation Tax Deduction FAQs

We wish to assist you in better understanding the auto donation process.

We also highly recommend you visit this IRS link web page to get the facts straight from the IRS.

1. What constitutes a legitimate automobile tax receipt?

2. Will you give me the highest possible value for my automobile donation on my tax receipt?

3. Does the fair market value of my automobile donation get deducted from the taxes owed at the end of the year?

4. If the fair market value of my donated automobile is $3,000.00, how much of that figure is deducted from the income taxes that I owe?

5. My old Honda Accord has a Kelly Blue Book wholesale value of $2,100.00 and a suggested retail value of $3,950.00, but it needs a new traney. Can I take an average of the two values and deduct the cost of a new transmission to determine the Honda's fair market value?

6. I do not itemize on my tax returns. Can I still benefit from a automobile donation?

7. I have not itemized in the past but if I donate my automobile, I might itemize. Would it be worth it for me to itemize?

8. Does the new tax law affect how much I can deduct on my 2005 income tax return?

Tax Deduction FAQs

1. What constitutes a legitimate automobile tax receipt?

The vehicle tax receipt you will receive will be legitimate, and will contain all of a vehicle tax receipt's necessary elements.

The elements of a legitimate vehicle tax receipt are: the charity's name; its Federal Tax ID number; the donor's name; date of donation; and, the year, make and model of the donated vehicle.

Top of page.

2. Will you give me the highest possible value for my automobile donation on my tax receipt?

The responsibility for determining the fair market value of your vehicle rests with you, the owner. However, it is usually very simple to find out the fair market value.

Follow these steps and you can find out the fair market value of your vehicle right now.

1. Click on either of these two links to go to the Kelley Blue book site, http://www.kbb.com. Clicking on these links will also launch a second browser window so you can read these instructions in one window and apply them in the other.
2. On the first page in the top left paragraph, called "What's My Blue Book Value?" click on the link called "Private Party Value".
3. On the page that comes, up click on the Year of your car.
4. On the next page that comes up, click on the Make of your vehicle.
5. On the next page that comes up, click on the exact Model of your vehicle.
6. On the next page that comes up there are a series of boxes requiring information. In the top box you are asked for things like the type of engine or whether automatic or manual transmissions, etc. Check these correctly according to your car.
7. In the next box (down) you need to fill in the Mileage of your car and your Zip Code.
8. In the next box you need to check off the various Options that apply to your car. These are things like Power Steering, air conditioning, cruise control, etc. etc. Check all that apply.
9. The bottom box is entitled Select Vehicle Condition. Choose Help Me, which is the last box on the right. This is important in order to accurately get the Fair Market Value for your vehicle.
10. After choosing "Help Me" click on the bottom button called, "Get Pricing Report". This takes you to another page.
11. On this page you rate the following: Exterior Condition; Interior Condition, Mechanical Condition, Miscellaneous. Each of these categories has several aspects of the car's condition to rate. There are usually 3 columns for each of these aspects. Choose one rating for each. Do not skip any of these. You will thus fully rate your car.
12. When this is done click on "Get Pricing Report" at the bottom of the page.
13. This takes you to a page that gives the Private Sale Value for your car rated exactly as it is, in its current condition. You should print this page for your tax record.

Information concerning boats, motorcycles, RVs, motor homes, etc. can be obtained by visiting the NADA website.

The Fair Market Value of your vehicle cannot be determined by a charity; the IRS considers that to be a "conflict of interest". A charity's tax receipt is, however, proof that you made the donation. The vehicle's fair market value has to be determined by you, unless the vehicle has a value of $5000.00 or more, then a certified vehicle appraiser must make that determination.

For more information about determining the "fair market value" of a vehicle visit our IRS Information page.

Visit the link and read Publication 526 Charitable Contributions.

Be sure to read the section entitled,"Contribution of Property." Also be sure to read the section called "Determining Fair Market Value".

In that section there is another section called "Cars, boats, and aircraft." This gives very specific information about that type of donation.

Another link on the IRS Information page takes you to a page called Publication 561 Determining the Value of Donated Property. You can explore any of the links on this page for more information.

Top of page.

3. Does the fair market value of my automobile donation get deducted from the taxes owed at the end of the year?

No. What you are referring to is a tax credit. Tax credits have not existed since the Kennedy administration and were Investment Tax Credits. Such credits were designed to stimulate investments by business in capital goods and equipment by allowing a percentage of the purchase price as a credit against taxes due and not merely as a deduction from taxable income.

However, the fair market value does reduce your total tax liability (the amount you owe) assuming you are in a position where you can claim a tax deduction for a charitable contribution.

Not everyone can do this. You have to "itemize" deductions. If you file a 1040 Short Form you are not itemizing deductions. If you are in question as to whether or not you itemize deductions please ask the person that does your tax return each year. He/she will know.

Top of page.

4. If the fair market value of my donated automobile is $3,000.00, how much of that figure is deducted from the income taxes that I owe?

This is a tiny bit complicated, so if you do not understand it please ask your tax advisor or tax preparer.

A percentage of your $3,000.00 donation gets deducted from your taxable income.

The actual amount of taxes you save will be determined by your tax bracket. If you are in the 30% tax bracket, for example, then your actual tax benefit would be $900.00 on your $3,000.00 donation. In other words, 30% of $3,000.

Top of page.

5. My old Honda Accord has a Kelly Blue Book trade-in value of $2,100.00 and a suggested retail value of $3,950.00, but it needs a new traney. Can I take an average of the two values and deduct the cost of a new transmission to determine the Honda's fair market value?

No. The IRS considers a vehicle that doesn't run, or is not mechanically safe, to have a reduced fair market value. When determining the trade-in value at Kelley Blue Book you can get very specific about the condition of your vehicle. You can enter details about every aspect of your vehicle's condition. From that you will get an accurate trade-in value. The fair market value is usually somewhere between the trade-in value and the retail value. With a car that is not running it is very close to the trade-in value or could even be below that.

Please visit this page for more information on the Fair Market Value of your vehicle.

Top of page.

6. I do not itemize on my tax returns. Can I still benefit from an automobile donation?

No. You must itemize your deductions on your tax returns to receive a tax deduction for a vehicle donation.

Top of page.

7. I have not itemized in the past but if I donate my automobile, I might itemize. Would it be worth it for me to itemize?

To itemize, you'll have to file the 1040 Long Form and the process of itemizing is a bit complicated. If you have not itemized before and are now considering it, check with an accountant to determine if it would really pay you to itemize and if you can do so and receive a benefit. The IRS allows a "standard deduction" for individuals and married couples filing singly and jointly. If you itemize your deductions, to get a benefit from a donation, the total allowed itemized deductions have to be greater than the standard deduction you would normally receive.

If you do itemize then simply follow the instructions given at the automobile donation form. Fill out the form completely and hit the Submit button at the bottom of the form.

8. Does the new tax law affect how much I can deduct on my 2005 income tax return?

Thanks to the new tax law, the IRS has taken the guesswork out of how to determine the value of your vehicle.

Beginning January 1, 2005 you may deduct the full price we receive for the sale of your vehicle. This greatly simplifies the process for you in several ways:

• If your vehicle sells for more than $500 you’ll know exactly the amount you may deduct, eliminating guesswork. Thus you no longer have to research and come up with an estimate of the fair market value of the vehicle.

• This also eliminates the risk of you getting into trouble by overstating the value of your deduction on your tax return.

• This saves you both time and risk.

Here is how it works:

Under the new law, if your vehicle sells for $500.00 or more at the dealer auction house, we are now required to send you a receipt containing the following information:

• Your name and the VIN of your vehicle;

• The fact the donation was "arms length", i.e. that we are not related to you in any way, family or business-wise;

• The selling price of your vehicle becomes its fair market value.

This makes the entire procedure very simple for you. And eliminates any risk from the IRS.

If you car sells for less than $500.00 at auction, you may deduct what you consider as the fair market value of your vehicle, as long as that figure is under $500.00.

In this case, we will be sending you a less detailed tax receipt that simply acknowledges your donation (with your name, date of your donation, and the description of your vehicle).

Top of page.

PLEASE FILL OUT our Auto Donation Form and the process will begin.

Soon after you send in your auto donation form you will receive auto donation instructions to get your questions answered about your auto donation. Fast pickup nationwide is available to those who complete their Auto Donation Form and submit it to us; such form, however, does not obligate you to use our service. We encourage your auto donation in California.

Top of Page

Teddy Bear Cops™ Auto Donation Charity

Email us at mail @ donatecar.net for any questions you may have,
and our Email consultants will promptly respond to your inquiries.
Copyright © 2002-3 Teddy Bear Cops™ Auto Donation Charity. All Rights Reserved.

We recommend you visit www.givecars.com to find out all the information about auto donations.
If you have an old motorcycle this charity accepts them.
Boats can be picked up by this charity all over the United States.