What actually happens between your first call and your tax document

Step one: you tell us what you have, and we tell you what we can do

It starts with the form or a phone call. We ask what the vehicle is, its condition, whether you have the title, and where it sits. Those four answers decide everything that follows, which is why the form asks them first.

Within a business day someone from Giving Center calls to confirm the details and give you three things: the transport plan, a realistic sense of what the item is likely to bring, and whether your claim is likely to exceed $5,000 and therefore need a qualified appraisal. If the honest answer is that a donation would cost more to haul than it returns, we will say so at this point and tell you what your alternatives are.

Nothing is committed yet. You can stop here with no obligation.

Step two: we arrange pickup for it, and you sign it over

We schedule pickup in a window that suits you, usually within a few business days for road vehicles and longer for equipment, boats and aircraft where transport has to be arranged. Giving Center books and pays for the tow, the trailer, the hauler or the ferry pilot.

At pickup you sign the title or the transfer paperwork and hand over the keys, and the driver leaves you a written receipt. That receipt is your immediate proof of donation; it is not yet the document that states your deduction. You do not need to be present in most cases, provided the signed paperwork and keys are accessible.

After pickup, remove your plates if your state requires it, cancel the registration and tell your insurer. Giving Center files the transfer notification so the vehicle stops being your liability, but canceling your own policy is a step only you can take.

Step three: it sells, and Form 1098-C follows

The item goes to the market that fits it: a regional auction for ordinary cars, an equipment auction or a direct buyer for machines, a collector channel for classics, a marine or aviation buyer for boats and aircraft. That is what decides your deduction in most cases, because your deduction is the gross sale proceeds.

Timing varies. Cars typically sell within a few weeks of pickup. Equipment waits for the next suitable auction. Collector cars, boats and aircraft can take longer because the right buyer is worth waiting for and a rushed sale means a smaller deduction for you as well as less for the cause.

Within 30 days of the sale, Giving Center sends you Form 1098-C stating the gross proceeds. You attach it to your return. If your claim exceeds $5,000 you will also need Form 8283 Section B with your appraiser's signature and ours.

What we need from you, in total

• The vehicle details: year, make, model, condition, and hours or mileage.
• Where it is and how a truck or trailer reaches it.
• Your name, phone and email. Nothing else on the form is required.
• The signed title, or whatever ownership paperwork applies to an untitled item.
• A lien release, if a loan was ever recorded against it.
• A qualified appraisal, only if you intend to claim more than $5,000.

What we will not do

• We will not promise a deduction figure before the item sells, because the sale sets it.
• We will not tell you your donation costs you nothing without qualifying it: the appraisal above $5,000 is your expense and your choice.
• We will not take something at a loss and call it a donation. If the tow eats the proceeds, we will tell you.
• We will not pass you to a third-party processor. Giving Center is the 501(c)(3) on your receipt.