How to Donate a Time Share to Charity

If you own a timeshare that you don't use and you either can't sell it or you don't want to sell, you can donate it to charity. Choosing to donate your time share to charity has many benefits, not the least of which is an attractive tax write-off. Here are some tips to help you donate your time share.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Time Share

1. Choose which Charity you would like to receive the funds

   The first thing that you'll have to do is to choose a charity that you'd like to donate your timeshare to. There are many programs available that manage time share donations and they all assist different charities. For example, Donate for a Cause accepts donations on behalf of charities like the American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, Feed the Children, and many more.

2. Contact the Charity Directly to See who Manages Donations

   Once you choose the charity that you'd like to donate your time share to, the best thing to do is to call the charity directly and ask them if they accept timeshare donations and who handles it for them. Make sure that you are choosing a reputable company that is backed by the actual charity to accept your donation.

3. Before you donate your time share you will have to have all mortgages, liens, taxes, and association dues paid and/or up-to-date. Charities are not able to accept timeshares that still have money owed on them. However, once they accept them, you will not be liable for future taxes and/or maintenance fees.

4. Get a Tax Write-Off

   When the charity, or the company managing these donations for the charity of your choice, accepts your time share for donation, they will assist you with transferring ownership of the time share. Once the ownership has been transferred, the charity will provide you with documentation and a receipt with a fair market value that you can use as a tax write-off.

5. Consider Donating Use of your Time Share

   If you own a timeshare and don't want to give it away completely, but would just like to donate your use of it for a year to charity, you can do that by contacting charities directly. However, in this instance, you will not be able to take any tax deduction for giving a charity the right to use your timeshare for a week or two, but it's still a wonderful thing to do and can help a charity that you love to raise funds!

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure that you are choosing a reputable company to manage the donation of your timeshare, they should not ask you for money. It's best to confirm with the charity directly who manages these types of donations for them!