Donating a car

[Anonymous]

What is the best organization to donate to in terms of maximizing your tax deduction?

[Anonymous]

You write off the value of the car. Org doesn't matter.

[Anonymous]

Donate to an org that will use it as a car. That gets you the blue book value. If you just donate it to an org who will sell it you only get the price they sold it for (less).

Check in with your HS auto shop or the local fire department.

This is from Intuit

The charitable deduction for a car that a charity sells is limited to the sales price, even if the car’s fair market value is higher.

• If the sales price of your donated vehicle is less than $500, you can deduct $500 or your car’s fair market value, whichever is less.

• If the charity sells the car at a significant discount to a needy individual, or keeps the car for its own use, then you can claim a deduction for the car’s fair market value.

• Charities are typically required to report the sales price of your car to you on Form 1098-C.

[Anonymous]

Have you researched the price on used cars lately? It's insanity. That car is likely worth more than you think it is.

[Anonymous]

NPR is asking for them all the time.

[Anonymous]

does it matter with standard deductions?

[Anonymous]

I've donated to https://careasy.org/home and they got a lot more for my car at auction than I expected. It was an easy process.

[Anonymous]

I gave ours to Edison hs in Wheaton. Very easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Donate to an org that will use it as a car. That gets you the blue book value. If you just donate it to an org who will sell it you only get the price they sold it for (less).

Check in with your HS auto shop or the local fire department.

This is from Intuit

The charitable deduction for a car that a charity sells is limited to the sales price, even if the car’s fair market value is higher.

• If the sales price of your donated vehicle is less than $500, you can deduct $500 or your car’s fair market value, whichever is less.

• If the charity sells the car at a significant discount to a needy individual, or keeps the car for its own use, then you can claim a deduction for the car’s fair market value.

• Charities are typically required to report the sales price of your car to you on Form 1098-C.

This is correct. We are getting ready to get rid of a car so I'm in the thick of this - I looked into donating it to NPR vs a school. NPR will sell it at auction so the amount it sells for would be on the 1098-C... the school (Marshall in Falls Church) will use it in their automotive tech class so we can claim blue book value on the 1098-C. If you claim more than $5000, you need an appraisal.

[Anonymous]

Thanks - how do you determine blue book value if you give it to a school?

[Anonymous]

You look it up on Kelley Blue Book or Edmonds online.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Donate to an org that will use it as a car. That gets you the blue book value. If you just donate it to an org who will sell it you only get the price they sold it for (less).

Check in with your HS auto shop or the local fire department.

This is from Intuit

The charitable deduction for a car that a charity sells is limited to the sales price, even if the car’s fair market value is higher.

• If the sales price of your donated vehicle is less than $500, you can deduct $500 or your car’s fair market value, whichever is less.

• If the charity sells the car at a significant discount to a needy individual, or keeps the car for its own use, then you can claim a deduction for the car’s fair market value.

• Charities are typically required to report the sales price of your car to you on Form 1098-C.

This is correct. We are getting ready to get rid of a car so I'm in the thick of this - I looked into donating it to NPR vs a school. NPR will sell it at auction so the amount it sells for would be on the 1098-C... the school (Marshall in Falls Church) will use it in their automotive tech class so we can claim blue book value on the 1098-C. If you claim more than $5000, you need an appraisal.

Where did you get this information on what you can deduct? Just wondering if there's a good source on it that I can read.

[Anonymous]

How much is your time worth? If you spend hours trying to get anther $1k in donated value, that may not be worth it. It's not a tax credit remember -- it doesn't come straight off in your taxes. The actual bottom-line tax benefit will be lower anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Donate to an org that will use it as a car. That gets you the blue book value. If you just donate it to an org who will sell it you only get the price they sold it for (less).

Check in with your HS auto shop or the local fire department.

This is from Intuit

The charitable deduction for a car that a charity sells is limited to the sales price, even if the car’s fair market value is higher.

• If the sales price of your donated vehicle is less than $500, you can deduct $500 or your car’s fair market value, whichever is less.

• If the charity sells the car at a significant discount to a needy individual, or keeps the car for its own use, then you can claim a deduction for the car’s fair market value.

• Charities are typically required to report the sales price of your car to you on Form 1098-C.

This is correct. We are getting ready to get rid of a car so I'm in the thick of this - I looked into donating it to NPR vs a school. NPR will sell it at auction so the amount it sells for would be on the 1098-C... the school (Marshall in Falls Church) will use it in their automotive tech class so we can claim blue book value on the 1098-C. If you claim more than $5000, you need an appraisal.

Where did you get this information on what you can deduct? Just wondering if there's a good source on it that I can read.

I just googled but it's the 3rd bullet above that provided the relevant information. You need to ask the organization how they will use the car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How much is your time worth? If you spend hours trying to get anther $1k in donated value, that may not be worth it. It's not a tax credit remember -- it doesn't come straight off in your taxes. The actual bottom-line tax benefit will be lower anyway.

This is the PP donating to the high school. I emailed with the high school and had one phone conversation with WAMU. Quickly discovered the difference in being able to deduct KBB vs. the sale price. Set up an appointment with the high school. Tow truck showed up this morning and I'll go over there to do the paperwork in a couple hours. It was totally painless and I'd recommend this route.

FWIW My DH wanted to see what we could get in a private party sale so he put it on Craigslist and put signs in the windows. He got a bunch of phone calls and a few test drives and then most of them offered him like half of what he wanted (which granted was ridiculous). Truth: from a strictly financial perspective we likely would have done better to sell it but dealing with people is a hassle and I feel better about donating it.