Car Donation Charity—Teddy Bear Cops™ — donate a car & help a child.
Tax Deduction Information

This page is an effort to make available to donors all of the information about tax deductions and tax benefits in an understandable format.

...Can Permanently Affect A Child. Some Care and a Teddy Bear Can Prevent This. Turn That Old Vehicle Into Teddy Bears for Kids!

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Contents Car Donation Tax Write-Off? Car Donation Tax Deduction Tax Deductible Car Donation Tax Break for Car Donation End of Year Tax Questions - Will my Donation be for this year?

"I just wanted to say "Thank you" to everyone that donates to this cause and to all of the people that work for this cause. We just received more teddy bears and we can't say enough about all of you. "I gave one out on June 11, 2009 to a 12 year old girl who was in a car accident. She took if from me, smiled with a tear on her cheek, and hugged it. It made her day so much better and it wouldn't have been possible without Teddy Bear Cops and the wonderful, giving people in our country. Thank you." — Lt. White Fire Dept.

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Tax Deduction Overview

Car Donation Tax Write Off? If you are not familiar with how tax deductions work or are unsure if you can receive a tax deduction when you donate a vehicle, you can start by reading our Tax Deduction Overview. If you are looking for a tax write-off or tax break and wish to help children, you can fill out our online donation form to start the process.

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IMPORTANT DONATION TAX DEDUCTION UPDATE! New Tax Law How much can you deduct? Prior to the change in the tax laws for car donations, the value of the donation was based upon the actual fair market value of the vehicle. This value was very difficult for people to figure out and caused various complications and problems. Thanks to the new tax law, the IRS has taken the guesswork out of how to determine the value of your vehicle. Beginning January 1, 2005 you may deduct the full price we receive for the sale of your vehicle. This greatly simplifies the process for you in several ways. Under the new law, if your vehicle sells for more than $500 then the following applies: If your vehicle sells for more than $500 you’ll know exactly the amount you may deduct, eliminating guesswork. Thus you no longer have to research and come up with an estimate of the fair market value of the vehicle. The selling price of your vehicle becomes its fair market value and is what you can deduct on your tax return in most cases. This also eliminates the risk of you getting into trouble by overstating the value of your deduction on your tax return. This saves you both time and risk. If you car sells for $500 or less at auction, you may deduct what you determine as the fair market value of your vehicle or the amount the vehicle sold for, whichever is less, and as long as that figure is under $500.00.

Submit your online car donation form and feel free to ask any questions on that form. See/hear the Teddy Bear Song on www.youtube.com – “A Tribute To All Things Teddy Bear.” IRS Publication 4303—The most current IRS Publication regarding Tax Deductions for Vehicle Donations.

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Tax Deductible Car Donation — This section provides some basic information about tax deductions and some points that donors should be aware of.

Donor Beware!

A car donation can definitely be tax deductible. But, those wishing to donate a car or vehicle should be aware of false and misleading claims, such as Maximum Deduction, Full Fair Market Value and Fully Tax Deductible made by certain online car donation charities or in radio or TV commercials or other media articles.

Please read the Information regarding misleading claims about a car donation.

Do you qualify for a Tax Deduction?

Not everyone can get a tax write off. For basic information about whether your car donation might be tax deductible please read our tax deduction overview or consult your tax preparer.

For those that do not itemize deductions, cannot benefit from a tax deduction or do not want a tax deduction the recycling program or auto salvage program is an option.

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Start the donation or recycling process by filling out the Online Form.

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Looking for a Tax Break for your Vehicle or Car Donation?

Additional car donation tax information can be found on these web pages:

Read our Tax Deduction Overview.

New Tax Law Information

IRS provides simple steps for taxpayers regarding deductions on vehicle donations.

Links to various IRS publications regarding noncash charitable contributions (such as an automobile donation).

You can also read the revised Publications from the IRS. See our new IRS Publications 526, 561 and 4303 pages for latest revision.

Visit our web page that has all the links to important IRS information.

Excerpts from IRS Publication 526 - Charitable Contributions - noncash charitable contributions...

Other information about taxes, IRS alerts, etc

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Start the donation or recycling process by filling out the Online Form.

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TWO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AT THE END OF THE YEAR:

QUESTION #1:

Will my donation be good for the year that I sent in the donation form, even if I don’t receive the receipt until the beginning of the New Year?

ANSWER: YES!

IRS Publication 4303, “A Donor’s Guide To Vehicle Donations” states:

“… the written acknowledgment must contain … the date of the contribution…”

The date of contribution is the date that we received the donation form. So it can even be on the 31st of December and will still be for that tax year.

The only exception might arise if you cancel the donation and then resubmit it later, or if the donation is canceled by us or the towing/auction facility due to reasons of inability to make pick up arrangements or lack of proper vehicle documentation, etc. Generally if you work with the towing/auction facility and assist in any problems that might arise then your donation will still be considered effective the date you filled out the donation form.

QUESTION #2:

If I submit the donation form on the last few days of the year and the towing/auction facility does not pick up the vehicle until the beginning of the New Year does the donation still count towards the current year, i.e. the year I submitted the donation form online?

ANSWER: YES!, as stated above.

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Please start the Donation Process by filling out the Online Donation Form.