Cars Helping America

If you want to donate a car for tax deduction purposes, you may be surprised to find out a few pieces of information. I know I was when I started to look into it. What I didn’t know is that not every organization is able to issue a tax receipt, and I was also unaware that some online services that claim to help charities may actually be selling the cars and keeping the profits themselves. Whether you decide to donate a truck, car or boat, here are a few pieces of information that can help keep you from getting stung.

The first thing that you need to know is that only registered charities can issue tax receipts. There may be some incredibly worthy organizations that can benefit greatly from your donation. You should not think that just because an organization is not a registered charity that giving them your vehicle is a waste. This is simply not true. However, if you are interested in the benefits of a tax receipt, you need to look for the following things.

In the United States, only a charity that has received a 509(a) designation from the IRS can issue tax receipts for charitable donations such as vehicles. This means that it has shown proof that it is not a private foundation and that it is a tax exempt organization. Both religious and secular organizations can qualify for a 509(a) designation and can issue tax receipts for donations.

In Canada, a similar system is in place. A charity must register with Revenue Canada and state that they are a charitable organization which exists to benefit society or a portion of it. They are also tax exempt and can issue charitable tax receipts.

You want to make sure that the company you are dealing with to pick up your car actually is affiliated with the charities that they list. There have been reports of some car dealerships which claimed to be working with charities but were simply reselling the used vehicles for their own profit. You can make sure that the charities are in fact working with the website or service you are thinking about using. It may only take a few minutes to find out this information but it is time well spent.