Many of us look at taxes as burdens imposed on our citizenship. Life is difficult enough, many claim, and taxes make life even more of a hassle. Lots of people may go to the extent of wishing taxes away. Taxes are considered a burden to virtually everyone.

But a closer look says that taxes lay the groundwork for the social services that are provided in this country. Over and over again, it has been said that taxes support the government. Taxes provide our government with the money needed to run social security programs sorely needed. Through the taxes we pay, infrastructures are built. Every taxing season, social services are funded by the taxes asked from us. National defense is also supplied through tax money.

The government is not an authoritarian entity that doesn’t take care of its citizens. Although taxes are pesky, it offers all of the social services needed to run this country to the fullest. To ease the burden of tax obligations, the government gives allowable tax deductions for qualified citizens. These tax write offs are dependent on certain conditions which give a feeling of humanity to their nature.

The government's car donation programs offer some of these tax deductions. By donating a car you don't want to any of the car donation programs specifically established for charity, some significant tax deductions can be had.

For instance, if your charity decides to use the car for some real charity purposes as defined by law, the car donation programs the government has built would allow you a tax deduction equal to the fair market value of the car if it’s kept or the selling price if it’s sold. Indeed, these programs are great ways to show that the government can provide for its people. In many ways, taxes do more good for us than harm.

There are so many websites, often it's hard to choose which to study for Car Donation facts but we find that a variety of sources work best such as the web, speaking to friends and looking in magazines or at a library. If you need current info on Car Donation then you've come to the right spot. You'll find the most recent data on this and you can relax and dig into the material.

Donating an old or little-used vehicle to charity is a win-win idea but you have to make sure you satisfy IRS's 2005 conditions in order not to get an audit, as explained in Part 1 of this article. Here are the other conditions:

2) If your vehicle is used by the charity in their daily operations, you can deduct its "fair market value" but it has to be a "significant intervening use." For example, if the charity is using your donated vehicle to deliver meals-on-wheels and registers over 10,000 miles a year, then that counts as a "significant intervening use."

3) You can also deduct the "fair market value" if the charity has made repairs and improvements that significantly increased the value of the vehicle. And a paint job or new tires do not count as an "improvement." A new engine or transmission would be more like it.

4) You can also deduct a "fair market value" if the charity, instead of wholesaling it, gives the vehicle to a poor person either for free or well below its market price.

5) And here is how "fair market value" is defined… Usually, most standard car price guides like Kelley Blue Book lists three prices for a vehicle, independently of its condition: Trade-in, Private-Party, and Dealer Retail. If the above conditions apply, you can deduct the PRIVATE-PARTY price from your taxes.
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You need a written letter of donation from your charity if the vehicle's value is over $500.

These are the forms you need to use to deduct your vehicle's worth from your taxes: IRS Form 1098-C (Contributions of Motor Vehicles, Boats, and Airplanes) and Form 8283 (Noncash Charitable Contributions).

If you claim that the value of your donated vehicle is over $5,000 then you need a written independent appraisal to back up your claim.