Here’s more on how your vehicle donation (to ANY Canadian charity) can affect you at tax time…

“How much is my tax receipt?” is top of the list for donor queries here. Donate a Car Canada is unique in its process. We work to serve! Donors and their chosen charities are Priority One. We also seek to serve our communities and their business owners. We do this by employing a process that is fair to all.

How much is my car donation tax receipt?

The short story: car donation tax receipt outcomes vary from province to province, and even city to city. This is because all donated vehicles are assessed on their own merits. We have seen re-sale donation outcomes as high as $66,850.00! A few years back, Prostate Cancer Canada received a Mercedes donation of $27,000.00! Although these results are not typical, it is not uncommon for us to send thousands of dollars to receiving charities for auctioned vehicles.

Recycle-ready car donation outcomes are as varied as the cars, donors, and provinces they represent! In some cities we see outcomes as high as $600.00 for a recycle-ready car!

Car donation tax receipt: here’s the breakdown

Donate A Car Canada has three possible sale procedures that maximize the donation outcome for our charities. Here’s how we work:

1. Many donated cars are ready for the recycle process: This applies to vehicles that are ready to come off the road. The donation amount for each varies. Dollar outcomes depend on your donation location, and what the market will pay for the year/make/model. The vehicle will be picked up by our towing agent at no cost to you.
2. We always assess: is a vehicle suitable for sale at auction? Several factors go into qualifying a vehicle for auction. Drivability, mechanical condition, age, visual appearance, and mileage all impact this decision.
   Vehicles sold at auction are sold ‘as is’ and ‘unreserved’. Sales are to the highest bidder, as a full and final sale. Outcome at auction varies. As such, we cannot guarantee a specific sale result.
3. Our third option applies to vehicles that may not perform well at auction, but that are not ready for recycling. Our re-sale/recycle process begins with the free tow. Once our agent has it on their yard they will assess your vehicle to determine if it should be recycled or re-sold. This will be based on the current market. If they determine that they will not find interested buyers, they will recycle your car. If they see re-sale value in your vehicle, they will advertise it to their own buyer base. They will send us the net proceeds from the re-sale price.

Will this cost me anything?

There is no cost to either donor or charity for this process. Donate a Car and their cooperating agents (we serve from coast-to-coast!) do have costs.

We keep our own overhead to a minimum. This is done in several ways, not the least of which is our work from home staff. Having the team work from home has been one of Donate a Car’s cost-saving measures from day one! Furthermore, keeping our staffing numbers lean cuts the bills, too. It does mean that we each work at a clip! And it means we care (so personally) about each donor. Moreover, we strive to keep our environmental footprint small: we are almost entirely paperless. I could go on, but you get the picture.

Our agents mirror our mission: they often cut their own fees dramatically to accommodate complicated tows. They work overtime for our donors, too. Additionally, they boost the amounts they’re willing to pay per vehicle whenever they can.

Any costs to the process are taken from the final sale amount on a vehicle-by-vehicle basis.

Works for me! How do I go ahead?

Just click the big red button right here! The donation form you find there will get you set-up in just a few minutes. Next? Await a call from our supporting tow agent. Then, it’s a free tow. A tax receipt will land in your inbox within a week of our disbursing your donation to your charity of choice.

A consideration: some of our agents will offer a small bump in the sale outcome of the vehicle if it is dropped off at their property. This doesn’t always apply, but do ask if that’s an option for you!

You are also invited to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. There you will be able to keep up-to-date on posts that showcase amazing donors and charities in every province in Canada!

We look forward to serving you and your charity of choice!

The post Tax Time: Your Donation Tax Receipt appeared first on Donate A Car.

How much Canadians give annually to charities?

In 2010 we donated over $10 billion to various charities across the globe!

Where Canada fits on the world scale of how much we donate to charity?

Canadians loooove their charities!

In 2012, Canadians raised the most funds worldwide during Movember! This is a campaign originating in Australia to raise awareness for men’s health issues. Click here to read the McLean’s report.

CBC filed a revealing report last week showing that although we are among the most generous in the world, more and more of our funds are being directed to international causes. The article covers many aspects of charitable giving with some very interesting statistics and considerations. This is a good read for regular charity donors!

In 2010 we were 14^th of 23 OCED (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) in funds directed to foreign aid. The Government however, stresses that the quality of life improvement for recipients far outweighs the dollar amounts they send. If you would like to read more about foreign aid, go here to read The Globe & Mail article.

Why Canadians are passionate about giving to charities?

It only makes sense that we give to causes we’re passionate about! Furthermore, we give to organizations whose values we align ourselves with. Canadians receive one of the highest tax benefits in the world for their donations. Naturally, that impacts the amount of charitable donations we extend to Canadian charities.

According to this CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) study, there are many reasons we are motivated to give. The way in which we are approached in the process matters. The CRA encourages Canadian charities to read through this information to evaluate their processes and activities.

How much of your donation dollars actually go towards the charity programs?

Donating money represents part of your life. You’ve worked for that income and are trading some of the hours spent earning it to give to others. There are many, many charities that recognize and appreciate that aspect of your giving. Unfortunately, others aren’t so cognizant of this fact. How can you find out what percentage of your donation dollars are actually at work for your favourite cause? Charity Focus, an organization dedicated to educating Canadians about the charities we support! They provide a service in breaking down the income vs expenses and where the money goes for Canadian charities. Check out their website to gain insight on those you already support or are considering sending some of your hard earned income to.

The many unique ways you can support your cause without actually providing cash out of pocket?

Charities know that there are so many ways you can give, whether it’s a cash donation, volunteering, estate planning, gift in kind, wish list items, etc. If you haven’t considered other opportunities besides a cash donation, check out what other options are available to you with your charity of choice.

Donate A Car Canada is happy to provide one such program for our donors. Giving a vehicle away is a big deal, but it’s also a responsible venue to ensure unnecessary carbon footprints are not soaked into our environment. Whether a vehicle is recycled or auctioned, you can be assured we work hard to make the most of each donation, and even though we are not a charitable organization ourselves, we try to keep our overhead at a minimum so that the lion’s share of your generosity goes to work for the charity you’ve chosen to support.

Donate today!

You are also invited to contact and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter! From there, you’ll be able to keep up to date on our program as well as see posts that showcase our amazing donors and charities across the country!

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