Be detail-oriented | car donate to nirlaba organization or community

This paper trail may seem cumbersome, but think about it: This may be one of the biggest charitable donations you ever make. By taking the time to dot the i’s, you can make sure that the charity gets the most benefit and you get the biggest possible deduction.

Not quite, but close. Charitable groups often sponsor events in order to raise money. You can deduct the cost of tickets to these events, but the amount shown on the ticket you buy isn't necessarily the amount you can deduct. Suppose you pay $50 for a special film screening designed to benefit a cause you support. If you can see that movie somewhere else for $8, you've made a contribution of $42. If the 'regular price' is not indicated on the ticket or anywhere else, just note the normal price for similar events or activities in your area and reduce your donation by that amount.

Keep a thorough paper trail | car donate to nirlaba organization or community

If your donation is worth more than $500, you’ll have to attach IRS Form 8283 to your tax return. If it’s worth more than $5,000, your documentation must include an outside appraisal. You’ll also need proof of the donation, such as a receipt from the charity and a copy of the title change.

While there are certainly some charities that overpay their leaders, Charity Navigator's data shows that those organizations are the minority. Among the charities we've evaluated, the typical CEO salary is roughly $150,000. Before you make any judgments about salaries higher or lower than this average, we encourage you to keep in mind that these charities are complex organizations, with multi-million dollar budgets, hundreds of employees, and thousands of constituents. These leaders could inevitably make much more running similarly sized for-profit firms. Furthermore, when making your decision it is important to consider that it takes a certain level of professionalism to effectively run a charity and charities must offer a competitive salary if they want to attract and retain that level of leadership.

Know when you can report the fair market value | car donate to nirlaba organization or community

You won’t need evidence of the sales price if the charity keeps the vehicle or vessel and uses it in its charitable work, or if your donation is worth less than $500. Then you can report its fair market value based on listings from Kelley Blue Book and similar sources.

Unlike your investment portfolio, diversification isn't a good strategy when giving to charity. We suggest that you take the time to find a few well-run charities that match your interests and make a commitment to support those charities over time. By concentrating your giving among a few outstanding charities, your donations will do more good than if you contributed small gifts to a wide array of charities.

Your estimate of the donation’s value probably won’t cut it | car donate to nirlaba organization or community

If your car or boat is worth more than $500, the IRS is going to want to see evidence of how much the charity got for it. (Most charities that accept these donations turn around and sell them for cash.) You’ll need to get a receipt from the charity revealing exactly how much money it made.

We believe our ratings will dramatically improve the quantity and especially the quality of information available to givers. Our ratings provide clear, objective, and reliable assessments of the financial health of charities. By using our ratings, givers can truly know how a charity's financial health compares with that of its peers and of charities throughout the country. Givers can be confident that in supporting those charities rated highly by Charity Navigator, they will be supporting organizations that are fiscally responsible and financially healthy. 

That said, we do not recommend using our ratings as the only factor in deciding whether to support a particular organization. Givers should also seek out additional information from charities directly and through other private and public sources to evaluate what a charity does and how well they do it. Intelligent giving depends on reliable information. Charity Navigator provides an important piece of this information, and we encourage givers to learn as much as they can about a charity before deciding to support it.

Transfer the vehicle with care | car donate to nirlaba organization or community

Want to eliminate all risk of running up parking tickets and other violations after you’ve said goodbye to your donated vehicle? Then formally re-title the vehicle to the charity, and report the transfer to your state’s department of motor vehicles or licensing. Never agree to leave the ownership space on the charity donation papers blank.

Many charities are equally grateful to receive gifts of cash as they are donated goods. Since the needs of an individual charity change frequently, we are unable to provide you with a list of charities and the types of goods they'll accept. We recommend that you use our site as a tool to find a well-run charity in your region. Then, contact that charity directly, using the information we provide, to determine if the organization is interested in receiving your goods.

Do the delivery yourself | car donate to nirlaba organization or community

Once you’ve identified a worthy charity, recognize that it will have to pay someone to pick up your car or boat for you. To help the charity maximize the benefit of your donation, drop the car or boat off yourself.

We are on the precipice of a sea change.  I believe in our lifetimes we will see a human services sector that demonstrates its desire to make a difference by proving its impact, that measures and improves the difference it makes not merely by anecdotes and that drives change at every level by relentless attention to data.  This transformation can’t come soon enough.  We certainly haven’t done ourselves or the individuals, families and communities we serve any favors by failing to distinguish the interesting from the useful.   Arguably, we have been complicit in, if not outright causing harm to those we aspire to serve.

Know the status of your recipient | car donate to nirlaba organization or community

In order for you to qualify for a deduction, the charity that gets your donation must be an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) organization. Your church, synagogue, mosque or temple likely qualifies. (Check first just to make sure.) You also can visit the Internal Revenue Service’s Web site and search for Publication 78 to find other qualifying non-profit organizations. (Just type “78” into the search field on the IRS home page and you’ll be directed to the right publication.)

High-performing agencies are transforming themselves from compliance-driven data collectors to performance driven intelligence generators.  The best of them acknowledge that they are introducing scientific method to the art of service delivery.  This structure creates a context for the pursuit of what works that reveals incite as much as outcomes.  This is the American Way.  This is the new currency of the sector.  This is as innovative as diet & exercise.   It is the fabric of our inheritance and the light on the path toward greatness.  Grant-making agencies from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation to the State of Massachusetts Office of Finance have recognized this and begun to guide direct service providers in this direction. As , despite a professed federal commitment to changing the way service delivery informs funding (read John Bridgeland’s account of the Feds’ commitment to performance management in The Atlantic), it is actually state and local efforts to identify and replicate evidence-based program initiatives that are leading the sector in performance-based funding.

Check the math | car donate to nirlaba organization or community

If you still feel compelled to use an intermediary organization – possibly because you’re busy – at least ask the organization how much of the car or boat’s value will go to charity. If the organization simply gives charities flat fees — say, $100 for a used vehicle regardless of its value, or $2,000 a month — your donation may not be eligible for a tax deduction.

The current budgetary crisis reminds us that sensible decision making continues to be precious and rare in the highest offices of our representative democracy.   Keeping this in mind, those of us at the bitter end of federal, state and local funding must continue to buttress ourselves with an ample, if not overwhelming, set of data that substantiates our claims that what we do makes a measurable difference.  To forfeit the pursuit and accumulation of this evidence of impact is to contribute to the nonsense that imperils the individuals and communities we serve.  We have it within our power to take the higher ground toward intelligence, rather than the low road to compliance.  Accountability has been maligned as the punitive force driving toward a lowest common denominator.  There was a time and place for this type of evolutionary thinking - Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) - but the times have changed.  Performance management is the “strengths-based” approach to identifying and replicating effective and efficient service delivery.  

Tip: Eliminate The Middleman | car donate to nirlaba organization or community

Someday, If you find that the telemarketer is calling you on behalf of a charity that you wish to support, contact the charity and find out how to donate to it directly. That is smart way you avoid having part of your donation taken by a for-profit company.

Then to conclude the 'When a Charity Calls'  series, if you are going to take only one thing away, we hope it is: when telemarketers are involved between then just HANG up the phone!

Frequently asked questions about filing your car donation

Q: Do I need to submit a Form 1098-c?A: You do not need to fill out a 1098-c form. Simply attach the Kars4kids tax deductible receipt that you received for your car donation to your tax return documents.

Q: My car is not running can I still get a tax deduction?
A: Yes. Every vehicle has some value and IRS regulations allow the donor to determine the fair market value up to $500.

Q: What date will be on my receipt?
A: The date for your tax deductible receipt will be the day you submitted your donation to Kars4Kids.

Q: My accountant had questions on which forms he will need to attach to my return 
A: Read our easy guide to car donations for accountants

Find a worthy charity | car donate to nirlaba organization or community

If the charities you normally support aren’t equipped to accept such donations, do some homework until you find a reputable charity that is. You can research charities’ track records online at this Better Business Bureau site and through Charity Navigator. 

Which offers a quick way to integrate charitable giving on websites and apps, has just been expanded to include all 1.6 million nonprofits. That's right! Not only does the A.P.I. allow developers to find data on nearly 7,000 rated charities, but also basic information on all U.S. nonprofits. 

Guide To Donating Your Car

Our primary purpose is helping America's donors make informed giving decisions when they part with their hard-earned dollars by writing a check to charity. In the past few years, however, more and more donors are attempting to help themselves, and help others, by donating their used automobiles to charity. This has become a massive business. In the year 2000, nearly ¾'s of a million people took a car donation deduction on their federal tax returns, thusly lowering their taxes by over $650 million.

As America's car donation system is currently construed, it is easy for donors to benefit greatly by donating their cars, albeit with a little risk. By following these 10 Tips For Charitable Auto Donations, you can minimize that risk, and maximize the amount that actually gets to charity.

1. If You Have to Use a Intermediary Agency, Research the Percentage that Gets to Charity

The IRS does not require the car donation agencies to contribute a set amount of the auto's proceeds to the intended charities; that amount is negotiated between the charities and the handlers. Try to find an agency that maximizes that amount, and call the charity to confirm that number before you give. The charities are reluctant to criticize the middlemen, because they don't want to lose the dollars they do receive, but state attorney generals are beginning to investigate and even prosecute these for-profit middlemen, for holding themselves out as charities and misleading the public on the amount that is actually reaching charitable causes.

2. Transfer the Car Correctly to the Charity

Some charities will ask you to leave the assignment of ownership space on the charity donation papers blank, so they don't have to re-title the auto. If your charity asks this of you, find another charity. If you don't formally sign your car over to the designated nonprofit, you will be held responsible for any parking tickets that are subsequently incurred, or liable if it's used in a crime. Remember, the charity you give the car to will probably not use your car to deliver meals to the needy, but will simply sell it as quickly as possible. When someone buys it from them at auction and doesn't bother to register that car, it's still yours in the eyes of the law.

3. If It Runs, Drive the Car to the CharityWorthy charities are going to have to pay someone else to handle a pick-up or a tow. This is yet another cost that cuts into the amount that gets to that organization's programs. If you can get the car to them yourself, do it.

4. Find a Charity That Directly Accepts Car Donations

If at all possible, avoid the for-profit intermediary organizations that advertise so pervasively to handle your car donations. When you work with one of these organizations, they keep the vast majority of the dollars created from your donation. Even the most reputable of the agencies that handle these transactions keep nearly 50% of the car's value for their troubles (other, less scrupulous entities keep 90%, or even more). If you can find a charity that handles the transaction themselves, they can keep 100% of their profits. It's possible that the charities you already support have a car-donation program that you don't know about. Check with them first.

5. Make Sure Your Intended Organization is a 501 (c) (3)While many organizations can claim non-profit status, donations to 501 (c) (4) organizations are generally not tax-deductible. These are political organizations with permission to lobby our government; like Disabled American Veterans or the National Rifle Association. Make sure your intended recipient has 501 (c) (3) public charity status.

6. If Your Charity Doesn't Accept Cars, Take the Time to Find a Charity That Does, and Still Does Work You Respect

Remember that you're still making a charitable donation, and don't simply give your automobile away to any charity, just because they're a charity. Do a little research, and find a high-performing charity that does the kind of work you like, in the region you wish to target, and does that work well.

7. Use Fair Market Value (FMV) for the Car

There are several exceptions which allow you to use the Kelley Blue Book or a NADA guide, but you must use the FMV, not simply the highest value listed for the year and make of your car. Use the FMV when:

• instead of selling the vehicle, the charity keeps and uses it,
• the charity makes improvements to the car before selling it,
• your car is sold at a discounted price to a person with a low income,
• or if the car is worth less than $500.

And remember to always get a receipt when you donate the car. Again, the IRS is watching this area very closely.
8. Complete Your PaperworkIf your car is worth more than $500, you must complete IRS Form 8283 and attach it to your yearly taxes.

9. Value Your Car Correctly

Due to the proliferation of car donations, the IRS became increasingly concerned about how taxpayers valued the vehicles they donated to charity. Over the last few years, the agency stepped up their audits in this area and began to advocate for changes to the laws that govern such deductions. With the passage of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, those changes have come. Starting with your 2005 tax return, you will no longer be able to deduct the published fair market value of vehicles worth more than $500. Under the new rules, your deduction will be determined once your car is sold and the charity sends you a receipt indicating the exact amount your car garnered at auction.

10. Take the Time to Get It RightIt is true that the biggest winner in the car donation game is usually the donor, and not the charity recipient. But if you take your time, ignore the quick and easy television appeals, and find a reputable, high-performing charity that will make the most of your donation, we can all emerge victorious.

Tax Deduction Benefits

How much will I receive as a tax deduction?

The IRS allows you to claim a tax deduction of:

THE VALUE OF YOUR VEHICLE UP TO $500.

It is up to you (the donor) to determine the fair market value. You can file for the value of the vehicle up to $500.

OR

THE AMOUNT THE RECIPIENT SELLS YOUR VEHICLE FOR.

If recipient sells your vehicle for more than $500 your tax receipt will be for the price the vehicle sold.

Avoid middlemen | car donate to nirlaba organization or community

A lot of for-profit intermediary organizations get some advertises aggressively on TV, billboards and elsewhere, offering to help you donate your vehicle to charity. Here’s the catch: These organizations typically they keep about 50-90 percent of the vehicle’s value for themselves, and the charities don’t get what they could have gotten. And of course... to prevent this, check directly with charities you admire and find out whether they accept car or boat donations.

You don't need middleman to do this, the middleman just only make you paid some unnecessary item or money or time. Just call the recipient, and see the tax program deduction subject to car donation.