Thursday, April 21, 2016

Car Donation: How to Value Your Gift

Car Donation: How to Value Your Gift

Most people make gifts to charities because they genuinely believe in the work that the organization does, and because they want to help others in their local or global community.  In addition to the great feeling that comes from helping others, most donors know they are likely entitled to a deduction on their Federal Income Tax.  This is a pretty simple matter when the gift is a cash donation.  It can become a bit more complicated when the gift is an in-kind donation, including a car donation.  Before you consider a car donation Milwaukee, make sure that you are valuing your used vehicle correctly and that you will be satisfied with the amount of your tax deduction.


Milwaukee Car Donation--Make a Correct Valuation

The first thing that a lot of used car owners need to get over, and also a factor that leads many to consider giving their vehicle to a car donation charity Milwaukee, is that your car may not be worth as much as you think.  Make sure you know the market value of your vehicle before donating it so that you are not disappointed when you receive a receipt from the Milwaukee car donation charity showing that your car sold for much less than expected.  Here are a few ways to find the market value for your vehicle as you make a decision about whether to sell it, donate it, or do something else with it:
  • Utilize a web site that will tell you several values for your car.  The most popular of these websites will be likely to tell you how much you might expect to get for your car as a trade-in, how much you might sell it for privately, and how much a dealer might expect to get for a comparable used car.  It is reasonable to expect that a Milwaukee car donation charity will sell your car at auction, which means that the receipt you subsequently receive (which is generally going to be the amount of your tax deduction) will likely show a value somewhat close to the trade-in price.

  • Do not expect the charity to be able to provide you with a tax deduction that is anything close to the highest value listed for your car, which would be the amount for which a dealer might sell a similar vehicle.

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