Donating RV...

wanderingbob wrote:
I R S laws have changed , you no longer get to value the donation at average retail . The value will be what amount that the non-profit receives , of which you will get a tax value based on your tax percentage .
Understand that in most states your charity CAN NOT take title and pass it to the buyer as these non-profits are not auto dealers . There is a middleman who tows it , transfers the title , sells the auto and gets MOST of the money ! Your non-profit can not take title because they can not issue a title or collect sales tax and are not insured . I only know of one non-profit in Florida who is a licensed dealer , most will go thru a company licensed as a auto dealer .
The non-profit gets very little of the money . Much better to sell it yourself and then decide what to do with the money .I worked for over thirty years for a company that provided this service and I was always surprised at how little the non-profit got .

Bob is right on with his analysis. The "Donate your vehicle" world occupies that gray area between "this is a very bad deal for everyone but the middleman company" and "outright Scam". Lots of things can go wrong, and even if everything goes right both you and the charity get very little in return. I doubt you live too far from a dealer that would be willing to buy the thing at a price that is very fair to them and very bad for you, but at least you would have cash in hand. Then you can decide to donate those funds directly to a good charity, if that is your ultimate goal and still get some tax benefit without risking the problems others have mentioned or stirring that hornet's nest that is the IRS.