Car Donation

Car Donation

A car donation entails donating a car to a charity, which will then sell your car and use the proceeds for charitable purposes. Most donations in the US are in the form of money, but nowadays car donations are also on the rise. You can choose to donate your car which otherwise might not have sold, and at the same time feel good about helping a worthy cause. Car donations also include donations of vans and trucks.

Benefits of Car Donation:

• Convenience: Car donation is a very easy process and is free of hassles. Almost everything related to car donation is taken care of by the organization to which the donation is made. Right from picking up the car by towing to the selling; everything is done for you and so it is very convenient.
• Cost Effective: A car that is not working or even a very old car can be donated. This helps in saving money on the maintenance of the car as well as on towing charges if your car is only fit for the junkyard. Even a ‘clunker’ might be worth something to someone. So by donating such a car you also stand to save some money.
• Tax Deduction: Almost all car donations are eligible for tax deduction purposes. At times the value of your tax deduction can be more than what you might have got had you sold the car.
• Easier than Selling: To sell a car you have to first fix it and then advertise the sale. This can take a considerable amount of time, not to mention money. Thus it is easier to donate your car and this can even result in considerable savings as mentioned above.
• Charitable Purposes: Donating a car, along with being beneficial to the donator, can also be a tremendous help to a deserving charity. The money from the sale proceeds can go a long way to improve the lives of many underprivileged people. This can give you a very good feeling and is one of the best advantages of car donation.

The Process of Car Donation:

- First of all you have to decide on the car to be donated. All kinds of cars can be donated, even those that are not in a working condition. Then you have to set the value of the car for tax purposes. The charity or organization cannot put a value on the car and this has to be done by the donator and his tax consultant.

- For a value of more than $5000, an official appraisal has to be done by a certified appraiser. Your chosen charity can help you in this matter and will subsequently provide you with all the necessary documents for tax deduction.

- After this you have to inform the respective organization so that they can come and pick up your car. You have to fill out a donation form after which all the necessary work will be done by the charity.

- A car cannot be donated without a ‘Title’. If your car does not have a title you can apply for a duplicate one from the Department of Motor Vehicles and they will send you one, for a fee, in about one week. You should not sign over the title as this can result in a delay to pick up the car, but wait for the towing company to inform you how to sign over the title of your car.

- Your car will then be picked up within a day or two. You do not need to be there at the time of pickup but just have to leave the keys.

- Finally your tax receipt will be sent to you in about 2 weeks and you can avail your tax deduction.

Recently there have been a lot of instances where car donations have been fraudulent or of organizations and companies misrepresenting themselves so as to receive car donations. If you do decide on a car donation, select a charity that you know of, or one whose credentials can be verified. Also enquire as to what your donated car will fetch them and if there is any way to see what the money is then being used for. Make sure that your car donation is actually serving a charity and not being used for running a scam.