Car Donation ?

[nickelfish1]

We have a car we would like to donate to a charity but since the rules changed it's not what it used to be tax break wise. Short of leaving it on a side street with doors wide open and hoping it will get boosted..is there another way to get max value out of it? (Don't want to sell to anyone)

 

[Matt]

We have a car we would like to donate to a charity but since the rules changed it's not what it used to be tax break wise. Short of leaving it on a side street with doors wide open and hoping it will get boosted..is there another way to get max value out of it? (Don't want to sell to anyone)

I believe the current rules are you get whatever they sell it for, if it's less than $500 they round it up, more and you get that as a deduction.

Seems that many charities will pick it up, saw this in NY http://newyorkcity.wheelsforwishes.org

 

[cocobird]

Matt is correct. We recently donated a car and received the information several weeks later for the amount the car was sold for by the charity.

I would not advise anyone to leave a car on the road for stripping because the authorities could still track you down via the VIN numbers and require you to pay a fine for hauling the remains to a junk yard or for violating the law by abandoning the junk on the public road.

 

[nickelfish1]

That's actually one of the charities we donated our cars to about ten years ago. I've had my eye on an elephant sanctuary in TN for this donation. Back then we took KBBook on our cars and called it a day. Now, you probably don't get BBook at all.

 

[nickelfish1]

Cocobird-did you get near BBook for it?

 

[Annie H.]

We have a car we would like to donate to a charity but since the rules changed it's not what it used to be tax break wise. Short of leaving it on a side street with doors wide open and hoping it will get boosted..is there another way to get max value out of it? (Don't want to sell to anyone)

You might call your local domestic violence organization or shelter to see if they would accept it for one of their clients or residents. The shelter where I used to volunteer was very happy with auto donations. If not, you might try other NPs with clients. Of course if there are mechanical issues you don't want to do this.

 

[Stuck in KC]

I've given two cars to Catholic Charities in the last three years. One was a ford Taurus my son was driving at college that he let run out of oil(slight leak that escalated) . They have an 800 number to call. Asked a few questions, told me what to have ready for them and at the appointed date and time, took it away. Gave me a receipt for five hundred which was generous bc it had a blown motor.

Second adventure involved my old soccer mom car, a Honda Odyssey. Same senerio, Catholic Charities. The honda dealer offered me 3200 in trade, was given 2500 on my donation slip. Kept the other paper for backup documentation, but gave the car to charity. Thought I got more value from deduction plus the car was okay, just not what we needed(199,960 miles). Saw it on the street the other day so it had some value to someone (had my sons initials scratched in the side from a younger time).

 

[hanna brown]

Donate car to charity, Much easier than selling!

 

[hsinaz]

Support the local public radio. Here in PHX I just donated one couple weeks back and they are picking another one up tomorrow http://kjzz.org/vehicle-donations. Painless. The are pretty quick too. For the first one they came on the third day I entered online. Same for the current one.

All you need is the notiarized (free at bank) title that you are selling. Be sure to tell your local vehicle department know (usually online) that you sold/donated the car so they dont come back to you in case of any "mishaps".

I dont think I will benefit any in terms of taxes as I dont earn as much as to itemize. But I am happy it helps public radio.