if i donate a car today will i be able to claim it on this years tax returns?
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 at
11:32 pm
I want to donate my car to a good nonprofit but I also want to get something back on my taxes. Also, if my cars worth 00 about how much of this would I get back?
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It would be better to sell the car and donate the money.
While you think the car is worth $3000, the charity hasn’t sold it yet and it’s unlikely they will get $3000. If they get $1000, that’s all they will put on the form.
If you do not already itemize, the $1000 won’t change your tax bill. If you already itemize, you save $150.
Just shooting from the hip here and roughly expect you will "get back" about 15% of the LOW blue book value.
the organization you donate it to will give you a statement on their letterhead of the value of the vehicle, and until they sell it they don’t have a value(they are not in the business of appraisal)
on top of that if you don’t itemize on sch A exceeding your standard deduction you have nothing to gain by the donation
it’s actually donated today – dropped off or picked up.
If you don’t itemize, there is no deduction and no tax benefit.
You say it’s "worth" $3000. What’s that, blue book on it, or what you could sell it for? Donated cars are usually sold at auction, so bring far less than blue book of even their expected retail selling price. The organization will send you a letter saying what they sold it for, and that’s your deduction. You won’t know what it will be until after they sell it.
If blue book is $3000, they might sell it for $2000, if you get lucky. Your deduction would be $2000. Your tax savings would be that times your tax bracket %. In a 15% bracket, that would be $2000 times .15, or $300 tax savings, IF you itemize, zero if you don’t.
If you’re trying to help the organization, go ahead and donate the car. If you’re trying to get money for it, you’re far better off just selling it outright.