How to Fill Out IRS Form 1098-C

IRS Form 1098-C, entitled "Contributions of Motor Vehicles, Boats and Airplanes," is sent to persons who donated a vehicle, watercraft or aircraft to an approved charity during the current tax year. This article is written from the point of view of the entity filling out the 1098-C (the donee), not the person receiving it.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Call (800) TAX-FORM or visit the IRS online form ordering website (see resources below) to obtain acceptable copies of Form 1098-C to send to the donors. Although Form 1098-C is available for viewing online, the e-version of the form is unacceptable to send to taxpayers or the Internal Revenue Service.
2. Check the "Corrected" box at the top of the 1098-C form if applicable. Enter the donee's name, address, city, state, ZIP code and telephone number in the first box.
3. Enter the donee's federal identification number and the donor's identification number--usually a Social Security number or an EIN--in the two boxes beneath the first box. Below this, list the donor's name, street address (including apartment number), city, state and ZIP code.
4. Indicate the date of the donation in Box 1. List the make, model and year of the vehicle in Box 2. Disclose the vehicle identification number (VIN) for a car, the hull identification number for a boat or the aircraft identification number for a plane in Box 3. Check Box 4a to indicate that your charity sold the donated vehicle to a neutral third party for at least $500. Provide the date of sale in Box 4b, and show the gross profit your charity obtained from the donated vehicle in Box 4c.
5. Check Box 5a to confirm that the donated vehicle should not be sold before the completion of a "significant intervening use" or material improvement. If Box 5a is checked, provide a description of the intervening use or material improvements in Box 5c. Check Box 5b to indicate that your charity gave the vehicle to a needy person in lieu of selling it.
6. Mark Box 6a if goods or services were provided in exchange for the vehicle. If so, list the value of the goods or services in Box 6b. Describe the goods or services in Box 6c, and check 6c if the benefits received were solely intangibly religious in nature. Check Box 7 if the donor may not claim a deduction of more than $500 for the donated vehicle.
7. File Form 1098-C with the IRS; also send a copy to the donor. Check the IRS official website for specific instructions as to the filing deadline for Form 1098-C; it changes annually.