When you think about, you tend to think about donations of money to charities, hospitals, hospices, orphanages, libraries, universities and other entities that might be in need of those resources. But did you know that you can donate other things? And did you know that your car could be among those other things?
It’s true. Through websites such as Donate a car 2 charity it’s possible for you to give your car as a donation to those who will surely give it a better use. Other websites include Goodwill, Kars 4 Kids, and Donating is easy.
Donating your car is a simple and easy process. In order to do it, all you have to do is follow these steps:
- Fill out an online form to donate your car. It should be quick and easy to fill it out. Or if you prefer it, in case you have questions, you can always go to the contact form on the website to send a message to the website’s owners and one of their representatives should get in touch with you in less than a day.
- Once they have the information of the car that you are willing to donate, they will immediately make the necessary arrangements to pick it up anywhere in America. This applies for many websites. Usually, the pickup of a donated car is takes place within one two to three work days.
- You don’t need to be physically present when your car is picked up. What they do need is the ownership certificate of the vehicle and the keys, if you have them. Make sure you sign the ownership certificate in the corresponding section.
- Donated cars will be towed and then sold. The profits will go to the charity of your choice. The money will be used to help children in need all over the country. It’s a situation in which both parties end up winning: you and the kids.
- A few weeks after selling the car that you donated, you will get a tax deduction receipt for $500 that you can use with the IRS. If your car is sold for over $500, the receipt will reflect this. In some websites it’s possible to donate cars and also boats, motorcycles, trailers, trucks, and any kind of vehicle. In fact, if it has wheels, they will probably take it!
There are two different ways to donate cars, and both are very simple.
The quickest way to donate your car is by doing it online, in one of the websites that we have mentioned. It only takes a minute and it’ll be done. But if you are more traditional and you would like to talk to a person directly, you can do that too. All you have to do is call one of the phone numbers that are listed on these websites to contact a staff member that will gather your information regarding the donation that you intend to make.
Donating a car is an attractive and simple option to choose. All you have to plan is the charity that you want to represent. So if you make the decision of donating your car for a charity, here are some other things you should keep in mind when doing so:
- Request a copy of the letter of charity determination from the IRS that establishes that they are eligible to receive the vehicle when it is sent.
- Fill out the necessary forms for tax collection. If the car that you are donating has a value of more than $500 but less than $5,000, you need to fill the Section A of the IRS’s Form 8283. If it’s worth more than $5,000, you should fill out section B of the same form.
- You should also give fair value to your vehicle. If it’s too much, that’s not really important, but if the value is over $5,000 then you should be prepared to be audited by the IRS in order for them to verify this. Take photos, gather all of your records and check the values of some of the guides that are available such as the ones provided by NADA, Kelley Blue Book or Hearst’s Black Book. Values such as the car’s mileage or its condition of maintenance will be taken into account.
- Make sure that your charity meets the requirements. Within 30 days of making the donation, you should receive a document from them declaring the final position of the vehicle. If it has been sold, you should receive a promise that it will be sold to uninterested parties, as well as the purchase price, which is the number that you can use in Section A. If the vehicle has been used in the charity’s operations, they should notify you in a timely manner.
