car donations: April 2016

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Choosing the charity for car donation

The process of donating your car to a charity is easy and straightforward. You simply have to choose the organization and call them up or meet them in person. They will take necessary information from you along with your address and phone number. The Charity will tell you where to bring the car to make the donation. If you want, they can arrange a pick up as well. In the time of the delivery, the charity will give you a receipt.Choosing the right charity is important. You should go through a series of investigation before donating your car. The best way to search for a charity is by browsing the internet. You will find hundreds of websites that deal with car donation. The websites have information about charities in your locality and will assist you with the process. Additionally, these websites have a strong ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section that deals with laws regarding tax-deductions, phone numbers and addresses of charities in your state.
You should find out, whether the money from the sale of your car will be used within your locality or outside. You might have a preference for your own society and willing to donate the car to a charity that will use the fund for betterment of your surroundings. You should also find out about the programs and services the charities offer. There are thousands of charities available in the country providing wide range of services. You should select the one, which you feel is providing the best service and actually contributing much to the society.
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Sunday, April 17, 2016

donate car to charity california

Let us predict that for the past few days you have been reading articles on how to donate a car in California for a general reason that you currently bought yourself a new car after many years. Also, you are on the verge of planning and looking for ways to get rid of your old vehicle. Then you seem to be in the right track by reading such articles because one of the best ways to give up your old means of transportation is to consider donating it to an organization and/or charity. Although the best means is to put the car on sale, donation can also be a good option. Here are some good reasons why it is somehow better to put up the vehicle for donation instead of for sale.
How to Donate a Car in California

Everyone who tried selling a car can attest to the fact that doing this can most of the time be a pain in the ass. I guess that even you had experienced such because you are currently thinking of donating your old automobile instead of putting it up for sale. If you choose to sell it online, you will surely have your share of buyers who are looking for a good yet cheaper deal. Also, you can encounter people who aren’t really after buying your vehicle. Instead, they are after scamming or ripping you off. In order to get it sold, you may also put up signage in your home or an advertisement somewhere which usually takes time to get noticed.

If you are someone who loves helping charities and you often find yourself being so charitable in giving cash, a vehicle donation can be another option for your good will. Accepting a vehicle for donation also entails work for your chosen charity but this is lesser work since most charities already know what to do with the donated vehicle. Also, for your advantage, you may get something from doing such act of kindness. You may get a charitable tax deduction when you donate an automobile. You just have to ensure that you declare the car’s correct market value.

How to Donate a Car in California The Reasons for Donating upon your decision to donate your old vehicle, there is no need for improvements. You can donate it as it is. As a contrast to selling your automobile, you might need to fix some problems before a buyer purchases it. Oftentimes, selling an old car with problems in an open market lowers the probability of getting it sold. This is because most of the time, buyers who prospect your vehicle would want it to undergo mechanic check before proceeding to purchase. In donating cars, there is no need to test drive or to offer personal and private information to people you don’t know

Be informed: how to donate a car inCalifornia for faster operation.

You will also notice that it is faster to donate a vehicle than sell it. All you have to do is call your chosen organization and/or charity to let them know about your plan and they will take care of most requirements.

Knowing the reasons on why you should donate a vehicle instead of sell it gives you enough drive to acquire knowledge on how to donate a car in California.

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car donation programs

Car donations to charities seem like a win-win proposition. A donor gets a hassle-free way of disposing of an old car and a fat tax deduction, a charity gets money that it would not otherwise receive through cash contributions and a middleman makes a tidy profit for soliciting, towing and selling the car. Unfortunately, the loser is the rest of us. As taxpayers, we are subsidizing tax deductions on "car donations" that are not anywhere near commensurate with the benefits received by charity.

A November 2003 United States General Accounting Office (GAO) study, for which AIP was interviewed and listed as a resource, found that two-thirds of 54 cases studied the charity received 5% or less of the value of a donated car declared on an individual's tax return. Why so little? The car is often sold at auction for wholesale, then the cost for advertising in the newspaper and on the radio and Internet is subtracted. After the costs of towing and conditioning the car and processing the paperwork is deducted, little may be left for charity. Additionally, some charities may receive a flat fee for each car donated regardless of the value, sometimes as little as $25 per vehicle. The GAO could not determine whether donors were inflating the value of the used car. But it would be easy for donors to do so due to the lack of available information on the car's condition.

Car donations are a popular vehicle for tax deductions. 733,000 of the 129 million forms filed in the tax year studied (2000) claimed $654 million in deductions for used cars valued over $500. About 4,300 charities with revenues over $100,000 utilize car donations. The GAO study found wide ranging valuations and percentages going to charity: a 1990 Mercury Station Wagon was valued on an individual's tax return at $2,915, sold for $30 gross and after expenses the charity lost $130; a 1991 Ford Crown Victoria was valued on an individual's tax return at $3,100, sold for $300 gross and after expenses the charity received $165; and a 1995 Toyota ½ ton pickup was valued on an individual's tax return at $4,999, sold for $1,800 gross and after expenses the charity received $1,290.

At a June 2004 Senate Finance Committee hearing, a confidential witness who works in the auto sales industry described ways in which middlemen can make a profit from donated cars at the expense of the charity. In a practice the witness described as "fixing cars," some middlemen purposely disable cars, by simple techniques such as pulling a fuse or turning the distributor cap, so that they can be purchased for very little at auctions or used car lots and then resold for what the car was originally worth. The donor is rarely contacted about the vehicle's condition, according to the witness. The witness gave two examples in which a charity received less than $300 for a car that was worth about $4,000.

Some state attorney general offices have filed suits against car donation program operators, according to the GAO report. A for-profit business was parading as a charity that solicited cars before Massachusetts State officials shut it down. In 2003 Connecticut's Attorney General filed suit against the Animal Health Care Fund, a fake animal protection charity created by the owner of a used car dealer, who kept nearly all of the car donation proceeds and maintained one checking account for both entities. The California Attorney General's office filed a suit against an individual with a used car lot that incorporated a charity without any charitable programs and estimates that it raised over $1 million.

In response to out-of-control donated car programs, Congress in 2004 passed legislation to limit taxpayers' deductions for donation of cars, trucks, boats or planes to the gross proceeds received by the charity. People donating vehicles worth $500 or more to charities that sell or auction the vehicles need to receive a written notice from the charity with the gross proceeds of the sale and stating that it was "sold in an arm's length transaction between unrelated parties." If the charity uses the donated car in its programs, the donor will need to receive written certification from the charity of the intended use or improvements related to use of the vehicle and the planned amount of time of intended use. The charity must also certify that it will not sell or exchange the vehicle before the planned period of time for its intended use or improvement. See "Tips for how to donate a car".

AIP regularly encourages donors to give cars to charities that can utilize the car in its programs, e.g. delivering meals to the homebound, taking elderly or blind people to the doctor or on errands, training future auto mechanics, etc. By doing this, vehicle donors can be confident that the full value of their contribution is benefiting charity. We recommend that people contact their local United Way, Goodwill, Salvation Army, community college or vocational school to locate programs that need donated vehicles

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A charity that uses a donated vehicle for transportation or hauling goods obviously benefits directly from such a donation. However, in many cases car donation will be sold en masse, either by the charity itself or by a dealer to raise funds for the charity. In the case of a dealer, the charity generally receives a flat fee per car, sometimes as little as $45 per car.

Listed below are tips "how to donate a car" for donors who would like to donate a car to charity. Beware that the donor's tax deductions for car donations may be limited to the price at which the charity sold the car.

To receive the maximum tax deduction on your car donation, and to receive the satisfaction that the full value of the car benefits a charitable purpose, give it to a charity that will use the vehicle in its operations or will give it to a person in need. Otherwise, your tax deduction will not be based on the fair market value, but will be limited to the amount of money the charity receives from the sale of your car. If the charity you are donating to does sell the vehicle, ask what percentage of the proceeds they receive.
Ask if the charity accepts car donations directly, without involving a third party. If possible, drive the vehicle to the charity instead of using a towing or pickup service. This will allow the charity to keep the full amount of any proceeds from selling the car.
Make sure the charity is eligible to receive tax deductible contributions. Ask for a copy for your records of the organization’s IRS letter of determination which verifies its tax exempt status.
Be sure that you get a receipt from the charity for your car donation.
Be aware that non-cash donations are one of the most common triggers to an audit by the IRS, so you’ll want to document the value of the car and keep records of it.
If the car is worth more than $500, the donor must complete Section A of IRS Form 8283 and attach it to their tax return. Donors are required to file with his/her tax return a written acknowledgement from the charity. If the charity sells the car, the charity must provide the donor with a certification that the car was sold at "arms length" between unrelated parties and the sale price of the car within 30 days. In this case, the donor's tax deductions will be limited to the total amount the charity sold the car for. If the charity does not sell the car, it must provide the donor with a receipt within 30 days of the contribution. The charity may also be required to provide certification to the donor stating how it plans to use or improve the car and stating that it promises not to sell or transfer the car. Penalties are imposed on charities that provide fraudulent acknowledgements to donors.
If the car is worth $5,000 or more, an independent appraisal is necessary. The donor must also fill out Section B of IRS Form 8283. For cars worth less than $5,000, use the Kelley Blue Book, the Hearst Black Book, or a guide from the National Auto Dealers Association (NADA) to determine the market value. Make sure you use the correct figure for the date, mileage, and condition of your car. Picking the highest figure for your car model and year without taking into account other factors may not pass muster with the IRS.
Take pictures of the car and save receipts for new tires or other upgrades to verify its value.
Remember, it is the donor, not the charity, who is obligated to value the car and who will pay the penalties if an IRS challenge finds your figure inaccurate.

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