Donate a bus that your organization can no longer use

Who donates a bus

Churches, Christian schools, day programs, camps and public districts. The pattern is the same everywhere: the bus was bought or given years ago, insurance and inspection costs continued, the driver who held the CDL left, and now the vehicle sits behind the building taking up parking and failing to hold its value.

Districts and municipalities have the additional problem that a surplus auction values an older bus at scrap, which is difficult to explain to a board that remembers what it cost. A donation produces documentation, a receipt, and a defensible disposal record.

Driven by a CDL driver, or hauled

A road-legal bus is driven away by a driver with the correct license class and endorsements, which we provide. A bus that cannot be driven is towed or hauled. Giving Center arranges and pays for either.

Tell us the capacity, whether it starts and drives, whether the lift operates, and whether the bus is still lettered with your organization's name; we can arrange for markings to be removed before sale. Clear personal items and any first-aid or safety equipment you are keeping.

What decides what a bus brings

• Chassis and engine, with well-supported diesel drivetrains selling best.
• Mileage and maintenance records, particularly a district's inspection history.
• A working wheelchair lift, which materially widens the range of buyers.
• Body condition and rust, especially the floor and the wheel wells.
• Capacity and layout, since conversion builders want specific lengths.
• Emissions year, which in some states restricts where the bus can operate commercially.

The paperwork, and what you can deduct

These are titled vehicles, and when the title is in an organization's name an authorized officer signs, usually supported by a letter on letterhead, a corporate resolution, or for a public body the minutes or purchase order authorizing the disposal. Leased units cannot be donated until bought out and titled; financed units need a payoff letter and lien release. Apportioned and IRP plates are canceled by you after pickup.

Your deduction is the gross sale proceeds once Giving Center sells it, on Form 1098-C. Above $500 you file Form 8283 Section A; above $5,000 the IRS requires a qualified appraisal you obtain and pay for. Where the donor is a business, the receipt and 1098-C are issued in the business name and the deduction follows your entity's treatment, which your accountant can confirm. Full detail on the tax benefits page.