CarDonateTips.Com

If you donated a car or other vehicle to a qualified charitable organization in 2007 and intend to claim a deduction you should review the special rules that apply to vehicle donations.  You can deduct contributions to a charity only if you itemize deductions on Schedule A of Form 1040.

Generally, the amount you may deduct for a vehicle contribution depends upon what the charity does with the vehicle.  Charities typically sell donated vehicles.  If the vehicle is sold by the charitable organization, the deduction claimed by the donor usually may not exceed the gross proceeds from the sale.

If your deduction is $250 or more you must obtain written acknowledgement of the donation from the charity.  If your deduction is more than $500, this written acknowledgment or Form 1098-C, Contributions of Motor Vehicles, Boats, and Airplanes, must be attached to your return. Among other things, the acknowledgment generally must include the gross proceeds of the sale, the vehicle identification number, and a statement certifying the vehicle was sold in an arm’s length transaction between unrelated parties.

If the organization intends to make significant intervening use of the vehicle or material improvements to the vehicle, the acknowledgment must include certain certifications. If the organization intends to sell the vehicle to a needy individual at a price significantly below fair market value, or gratuitously transfers the vehicle to a needy individual, the acknowledgment must also include certain certifications.

In addition, for deductions greater than $500, Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions, must be attached to the return.

You can generally deduct the vehicle’s fair market value instead of the amount of gross proceeds from the sale if any of the following situations apply:

• The organization makes significant intervening use of or materially improves the vehicle
• The organization gives or sells the vehicle to a needy individual at a price significantly below fair market value in direct furtherance of its charitable purpose of relieving the poor and distressed or underprivileged who are in need of a means of transportation
• The claimed deduction is $500 or less

The fair market value cannot exceed the private party sales price listed in a used vehicle pricing guide.
For more information see Publication 526, Charitable Contributions, Publication 561, Determining the Value of Donated Property, and Publication 4303, A Donor’s Guide to Car Donations, available on IRS.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).
Remember that for the genuine IRS Web site be sure to use .gov.  Don’t be confused by internet sites that end in .com, .net, .org or other designations instead of .gov. The address of the official IRS governmental Web site is www.irs.gov.

Donation

There are many people who claim that being involved in a volunteer work overseas opportunity has the potential to be one of the greatest experiences of a person’s life. In almost every instance, a person returning from their volunteer work abroad stint has wonderful reports about how gratifying and rewarding it was to help people of a different country and culture. They also speak fondly of the opportunity to meet and work alongside of the other volunteers who were likewise moved by the experience.

For the most part, people who engage in overseas volunteer work typically have to pay their own way in order to have the opportunity to serve. At first glance, that can seem like somewhat of a contradiction in terms. Many people think that if they are giving up their time and their talents to a nonprofit voluntary charity organization, then they should pick up the bill to get the volunteers to their work stations overseas and to pay for their housing and incidental expenses once they are there.

In some instances of volunteer work abroad, the organizations do have accommodations, either at no cost to those doing the charity volunteer work, or at a discount. In some cases these same organizations have made special arrangements with the airlines so that the air travel is discounted or is picked up by the airline as a contribution to the charity.

However, it should be noted that every volunteer who works abroad is unique and the circumstances can vary considerably from location to location, and from one voluntary charity organization to another. For those who are planning to do long-term charity volunteer work, they can contact a specialized placement organization that provides placements for volunteers in various types of host organizations, such as schools, orphanages and even wildlife refuges. The volunteers usually pay a fee to the placement group, which then coordinates details of room and board, and training. Such organizations do have administrative costs and that is what the fees cover.

There are also many volunteer organizations that will coordinate more closely with the host country or the charitable organizations in that country. They undertake coordinating the service projects in total rather than only placing volunteers. The fees incurred are additionally used to directly support the funding of the service projects, or to make a donation to a partner organization that is involved in the charity work abroad.

Some people are still left wondering why those who are willing to donate their time and effort need to make financial contributions to the voluntary charity organization. The fact of the matter is that these organizations work with very limited resources and staff and many are dependent on the international volunteer force to function. This can actually make the volunteer experience even more meaningful, worthwhile and rewarding because if there were no overseas volunteer work force there would be much less important work being done around the globe.

The volunteers who travel to distant lands in order to engage in volunteer work abroad are generally not going to be replacing any of the full-time staffers of the voluntary charity organization, since most of the volunteers are temporary and they are not trained. But, the work of the volunteers is still incredibly beneficial to the charitable agency and greatly appreciated.

Uncategorized charity volunteer work, charity work abroad, overseas volunteer work, voluntary charity, volunteer work abroad, volunteer work overseas