How to Donate a Vehicle in Michigan
If you are looking for a way to help out a charity in Michigan without making a cash donation, you can donate a vehicle. Charities throughout Michigan, such as the Michigan Humane Society and the American Red Cross, accept vehicle donations. You do need to have the title for the vehicle to donate it to the charity. Donating a vehicle gets you a tax deduction, just like when you make a cash donation to a charity.
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Instructions
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Obtain the fair market value of your vehicle before you donate it. You can get this by checking your vehicle value with Kelly Blue Book and by seeing what similar vehicles are selling for in your area of Michigan. Fair market value is not the price that you paid for the vehicle. It is the price the car would sell for in a normal market.
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Pick a charity in Michigan to donate your vehicle to. You can choose a national charity, like the Humane Society, or a local one. Charity Motors, which operates out of Metro Detroit, partners with local area charities and allows you to pick one when you donate your car through it. Charity Motors basically serves as the middleman for the charities; your donation actually goes to the organization that you choose.
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Use the IRS website (see Resources) to make sure that the charity you have chosen is registered. You have to donate to a charity registered with the IRS in order to take the deduction on your taxes. You can also use the IRS site to search for a charity in Michigan if you don't know who you want to donate your vehicle to.
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Arrange to get your car to the charity. Some charities will pick up or tow away your vehicle donation, while others prefer that you get the vehicle to them on your own. Contact the charity you have chosen to make arrangements. If you use Charity Motors, it allows you to schedule a pickup.
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Sign over your vehicle title and get a receipt for your donation. Hold on to the receipt for your taxes.
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