How to Donate a Time Share
If you no longer enjoy your timeshare and view it as an albatross around your neck, you probably just want to get rid of it. If you are like most timeshare owners, you can't sell it or rent it because the market is flooded with timeshares, as of 2010. If your timeshare has become a financial burden of which you want to escape, a good way to unload it may be to donate it.
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Instructions
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Get a written appraisal of your timeshare if it is worth more than $5,000 so that you can take a tax deduction.
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Contact your time share association if the property is worth less than $5,000. You still need to have some proof of its worth. You or the association can do that by finding out what other properties in your area are worth, according to Bankrate.com.
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Select a charity. You can contact charities on your own or go through a broker, such as Donate for a Cause.
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Obtain a receipt that details the amount of your donation. The receipt should state that the donation is tax deductible.
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Contact the charity to make sure it has the donation in its records. Sometimes charities mistakenly do not record donations, according to Bankrate.com
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Document when your maintenance fees on the timeshare will end. You might have to pay fees until a charity accepts the timeshare for donation or until the timeshare sells.
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Contact your timeshare homeowner's association after you are notified of the sale to make sure your timeshare deed transferred properly. You want to make sure that you are not responsible for any more fees.
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Tips & Warnings
If you cannot find a charity willing to accept your timeshare as a donation, Donate for a Cause will guarantee to take your timeshare if you pay it $2,000, according to The Clark Howard Show, a consumer website and radio show.
When figuring out your tax deduction, don't wait for the charity to sell your timeshare to use the sale price. Charities often sell timeshares at bargain basement prices, says James Tarpey of Donate for a Cause.
Do not try to get away with saying your timeshare is worth more than it really is. You could get into trouble with the Internal Revenue Service by doing so.
Not all charities are going to be interested in taking your timeshare. If you have a mortgage, liens, loans or outstanding maintenance fees that you have not paid, Donate for a Cause won't take your timeshare. Other charities may not either.
If your property is an older one where there is plenty of new development, charities may not be interested in it. Charities may not want your timeshare if it needs repairs or has been in a natural disaster.
As of 2010, Donate for a Cause is only accepting about 10 percent of properties, according to The Clark Howard Show.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit finished condo image by jimcox40 from Fotolia.com
