When you donate a vehicle and the donee organization sells it to raise money, your tax deduction value is not the fair market value or bluebook value. The deduction value is the amount of money that the charity actually raised when they sold the vehicle, and this is reported to you and to the IRS on a 1098-C. After you e-file your tax return, you must physically mail the original 1098-C to the IRS along with a cover page that TurboTax will print out for you. If you don’t provide a 1098 – C to the IRS, the maximum tax deduction you can claim for a vehicle donation is $500.
If you won’t be itemizing your tax deductions or if you are fine with a $500 limit, you don’t have to share your Social Security number. Otherwise, the charity needs your Social Security number to issue a 1098-C.
