Serious about Charity Car Donations

The full eye-opening “Serious about Charity Car Donations” report is available for free at Donor University.

Find best approaches, IRS rules, tips and much more about charity car donations.

A few highlights from the report:

In this report, we focus on used cars. Although down significantly since Congress tightened the rules in 2005, charity car donation programs continue to handle many millions of dollars of donations each year.

Five key questions for potential donors

The best decision for you will reflect your answers to these questions:

What is your motivation?
How much would your car sell for in a private party sale?
Do you itemize deductions on your federal income tax return?
What will the charity do with your car (sell it or use it in its programs)?
If the charity will sell your car, what part of the sales proceeds will the charity receive?

Find out more about a charity – use the free Find a Charity search engine

Where does a $500 clunker fit in?

If the charity accepts the donation of a low private sale value car ($500 value or less), the car will be sold for scrap or at auction. The charity will receive little (if any) proceeds, and will likely accept the car as a way to strengthen its link with the donor. If the donor itemizes, the donor will obtain a charitable deduction for the private party sale value ($500 or less).

Best approaches summary

This table lists the best approaches for those wish to help a charity and either (a) file federal income tax returns and itemize deductions (Itemizers) or (b) either don’t file or don’t itemize (Non-Itemizers).

		Sell car and donate proceeds	Donate car
	Car’s private party sale value	Sell car and donate proceeds	Charity uses car in programs	Charity sells, handling haircut = 20%
Non-Itemizers	$500	Best
	$1,000			Best
	$2,000 or more		Best
Itemizers	$500	Best
	$1,000			Best
	$2,000 or more	Second Best	Best