During this Holiday Season of giving, donating a car to charity can make a difference in someone's life!  Remember that you can donate your vehicle online any time before midnight, December 31st and you will still be able to claim your tax deduction for 2009.  One of the most frequent questions we hear from donors is what type of deduction they will be able to claim for their car donation.  The deduction you claim depends on several factors, but can be easily broken down into three categories:

1. Vehicles that will be sold for parts or scrap, or that are valued at under $500:  You can claim up to $500 for your vehicle donation with the acknowledgment receipt that you will receive at the time of your donation.

2.  Vehicles that are sold at auction for more than $500:  You can claim a tax deduction for the gross sale amount of your donated vehicle.  The additional IRS forms required for  this deduction will be mailed to you promptly when the vehicle is sold.

3.  Fair Market Value deduction: The IRS allows you to deduct the Fair Market Value of your vehicle if it is used for the charities nonprofit purpose, or if it is sold to needy individuals for below the market value. If your vehicle is in good running condition, and can be used for our charity's purpose, please request evaluation at the time of donation to see if your vehicle qualifies for a Fair Market Value deduction.

Happy Holidays from Donate a Car 2 Charity

Donating A Car And Your Budget

Donating a car as a cost-saving measure simply cannot be ignored. For a family who's trying to save money in order to pay for their health care, their food bills, their children's private school tuition, or anything at all, donating a car to charity can positively impact the situation. First of all, the tax break you receive for donation can offset a lot of the costs an average family incurs throughout the course of a year. You can put that tax break into savings, use it to pay off bills, or just take your family out on a lovely vacation in order to reduce stress, increase happiness, and build family bonds. But that's not all - donating a car to charity can also help you in other ways.

Donating A Car For A More Efficient One

Oftentimes, a family will donate a car to charity because they're planning on purchasing a newer one. Most cars these days have better gas mileage, so it's a pretty good chance that a family who is donating a car to charity will in turn be purchasing or leasing a car that gets better mileage. Better mileage means you're filling up your gas tank far less often. Filling up your gas tank less allows you to save extra money that can go toward health care premiums, grocery store bills, or tuition bills.

Donating A Car On A Budget

You might assume I'm talking about donating a car on a financial budget, and you'd be right to be a little confused. Just how does donating a car impact your personal finances in a negative way? It doesn't. If anything, it helps you by providing a nice tax break. I was actually referring to another resource that Americans usually have to ration, budget, and keep track of: time. People nowadays just don't have enough time for everything they need to do. Kids need driving to school, laundry needs to be picked up, groceries need to be purchased - in some respects, we have to budget our time even more than than we do our money. And it's that tight time budget that prevents most people from even attempting to donate their car to charity. They assume donating a car takes forever and a ton of preparation. They assume that the entire process will be a week-long affair. They'd also be wrong.

If you go to a good car donation service, like Donate A Car 2 Charity, they will help streamline the process so you can get on with your day. They won't drag it out and make you wait for days and days running all over the city for paperwork and proof of ownership. They'll simply take your call, place the order, and send out a person to come pick up your donated car. It's that easy. They budget your time for you, so you don't have to.

Next time you're thinking about donating a car to charity, but you're worried about setting aside enough time to do it, stop worrying. It's easy as anything.

Donate a Car and Take a Tax Break

The following are some very helpful tax tips that will come in handy when you decide to donate a car to a Christian Charity. Certainly, nothing feels better than giving, but making it even better is the assurance that you have met all of the IRS requirements!  These are some of the most important charity car donation tips you'll need to consider before  you donate a car, truck, van, boat or other any other vehicle.

Tax Tips for When You Donate a Car to Charity

• When you Donate a car, find out if the Christian charity is rightly eligible to be the receiver of tax deductible contributions. You might ask for the organization's Internal Revenue Service's "Letter of Determination." This will verify their status. Or you can also check www.guidestar.org -- the leading source of information on US nonprofits.
• Make sure to get a good well-documented receipt from the charitable organization for your vehicle or car donation.
• In order not to send up any red flags on your income tax return know that the IRS looks carefully at non-cash donations, so make sure to clearly document the correct car or vehicle value and keep accurate detailed records.
• If your car is sold to a third party you can claim the amount it is sold for. Activated Ministries receives 100% of the proceeds from cars donated to DonateACar2Charity.com.
• If your car is used by DonateACar2Charity.com and is valued at $5,000.00 or more, you'll need to get an independent appraisal and complete the appropriate part of the Internal Revenue Service form. In return for your trouble, you can claim the full value of the vehicle as a deduction. DonateACar2Charity.com can assist you with the appraisal process. Just ask your friendly operator for assistance.
• For cars or vehicles that sell for less under $500.00, use either Kelley Blue Book or the guide from NADA to determine the current market value of your car. Use the correct figures for the date, mileage and car's condition. Don't just pick the highest figure for your vehicle year and model and not note other important factors. The IRS looks down on this.
• Take several close-up pictures of the vehicle inside and out.
• These are some of the best charity car donation tips you can put to use immediately if you're considering donating a car, truck, van, boat or other vehicle to a charitable car donation program.

Fast vehicle pickup when you donate your car to charity.

Donating your car to charity has many, many bonuses. Altruism already feels good, but getting that eyesore out of your driveway makes you feel even better! Donating a car to a worthwhile charity is an amazing way to give to those more needy, but it’s okay to feel good about the fast vehicle pickup that is also part of the deal.

Car donation is usually channeled through non-profit organizations like DonateACar2Charity.com, who have streamlined the procedure and can guarantee fast vehicle pick up. And when that old hunk’o’junk has been sitting in the driveway just a little bit longer than what you can take, or you want to see your good used vehicle continue to be used for a good cause, fast vehicle pickup is a major advantage to donating a car to charity.

Convenient and Cost-Free Donation has its Perks.

You’re probably asking, “Why should I donate a car to charity?” - “Why not just sell the car instead?” Although you do not get immediate cold hard cash in return for your car, when you donate your car to charity you will be saving time spent on all of the tedious tasks of selling your car --and with DonateACar2Charity.com you are guaranteed fast vehicle pickup.

With charities like DonateACar2Charity.com, you will experience the convenience and speed of getting rid of an old car without having to sit by the phone all weekend and hassle with local bargain hunters over the price of the car. Giving a donation that helps a needy person is great reason to donate a car, but not wasting a weekend and fast vehicle pickup are two more deciding factors for many people when finally choosing car donation.

DonateACar2Charity.com makes your donation as easy as possible for you by handling every part of the process for you. It’s as easy as making a phone call or clicking a link online! Within 24 to 48 hours, they will pick up your car, hand you a receipt in return and take care of the rest of the donation process. What could be better than that?

We at Donate A Car 2 Charity hope you were able to get your 2007 taxes filed on time (April 17th). If you are planning to claim a deduction for the 2008 fiscal year on a vehicle or boat you are planning to donate, you must donate the vehicle/boat before midnight December 31st 2008. But don’t wait till the last minute to get information about donating your car. Feel free to call and talk to one of our live operators at 877-505-5775 to find out all you need to know about donating your vehicle or boat.

Here are a few important points to remember about claiming a tax deduction when you donate a car, boat or RV. In order to benefit from the tax write-off for a vehicle donation, you must itemize your deductions. You will be able to claim a deduction for the value of your vehicle up to $500 with a simple receipt from the charity you donate the vehicle to stating that the vehicle was donated. If your donated car sells for more than $500, then you will receive a second receipt from the car donation charity with the sale value of your vehicle. The charity must provide this receipt with 30 days of the sale of your vehicle. You can claim the full sale value of your car donation. No charity can predict what a vehicle will sell for at the time of auction -- but they can often give you a ball-park idea of what to expect. There are no guarantees, though, for what any particular vehicle will sell for when it goes on sale on the auction lot -- but generally newer vehicles (within 7 years of age), luxury cars, SUVs and pickup trucks will bring a good price at auction, even if the vehicle has been in an accident. If the charity you donate the vehicle to will use the car you donate for their charitable purposes, or if they sell it at a reduced price to a low income family, or if the charity makes significant repair before selling the vehicle, then you can claim the Fair Market Value of your vehicle as a tax deduction. If the FMV is over $5000 you will need to get an appraisal of your vehicle and fill out the 8283 IRS form, which must be signed by the appraiser and the charity that receives the donation. Remember that if you call a car donation charity before midnight on December 31st of 2005 then you will still be able to claim your tax deduction for the 2005 tax year, even if it takes a week or two to pick up the car and get it sold. The date you call and pledge your donation is the date that counts as being the date you donated your car. Thank you for considering a car donation to charity! -- You can make a difference in someone's life!

Remember that there are only two months remaining in the 2005 tax year and if you have a vehicle that you haven't been able to sell, or that needs repair and you haven't gotten fixed yet, then now is the time to think about donating your car to charity. All car donations that are pledged by midnight, December 31st will count as a 2005 tax deduction. How much will you be able to declare for your tax write off? Well that depends on whether your donated vehicle is sold by the charity, or if it is used for the charitable purpose of the organization. If the car donation is sold at auction or sold for parts, then you can claim as a deduction the sale value of the vehicle. If the vehicle is used for the charity's nonprofit purpose, then you can claim the fair market value of your car donation. So think about donating your car today! -- and give us a call so we can arrange pickup of your vehicle.

There has been some substantial changes in the IRS requirements for those who make car donations to claim the Fair Market Value of the vehicle. Just to recap these changes:

As of January 1st, 2005 those who make a charitable vehicle donation which is subsequently sold by the charity can claim what the charity receives when selling the donated vehicle. If the sale value of the vehicle is more than $500 then the car donation charity must provide a sales receipt to the donor for their tax deduction.

However, there are some exceptions to this rule which make it possible for you to claim the Fair Market Value of your car donation:

1. If the charity does not sell the car but keeps it for use in their charitable purpose. In other words, if the charity receives a donated truck, van or car and this vehicle is retained by the charity and used for their programs or services, then the donor can claim the Fair Market Value of the vehicle.

2. If the charity makes substantial repairs to the vehicle before selling it -- again, in this case the donor would be able to claim the Fair Market Value.

3. If the car is sold at a discounted price to a low income family or individual. Your vehicle may qualify for a full fair market value tax deduction, especially if it is in sound mechanical condition, or if the repairs that are required to bring the vehicle to running condition do not exceed the value of the car.

If you have any questions about what you can claim for your car donation -- give us a call & ask. We\'d be happy to explain your options. 1 (866) 779-1362

The JOBS bill (HR 4520) which was signed into law in October 2004 places new restrictions on car donations to charity that you should be aware of if you would like to claim a tax deduction for your car donation. Here are some helpful links that explain the new legislation.

IRS Publication on Car Donation tax laws

Helpful Info on 2005 Car Donation Tax Law changes