Most people assume that car donation and charity giving are tools the rich alone are able to use to ease their tax burden. This couldn’t be further from the truth! Anyone can file a tax return with itemized deductions if they bother taking the time and effort to do so. Though you are responsible for gathering receipts that back up your deduction claims, car donation for charity is now set up in such a way to make claiming the correct amount in deduction easier than ever.

In the case of car donation, charity organizations have been reliant upon donated items for a long time, though hardly as a large part of their overall donation dollars. In fact, a report issued by the General Accounting Office (GAO) in 2003, when levels of charitable giving was at its highest in terms of car donation, charity coffers were still little affected by the input of donated vehicles. As little as six percent of the ?typical? charity was represented by car donation.

The self-employed are in an especially good position to take itemized deductions of monies turned back into the business as well as legitimate car donations. A charity that is sanctioned by the IRS and has a legitimate non-profit tax ID number should be more than able to provide you with the forms you need to make your deduction with the same confidence as any other type of deduction you save a receipt for.

Of course, individual returns are far more likely to claim the standardized deduction, making car donation to charity impossible to claim. However, filing itemized deductions can actually benefit most taxpayers providing they take the extra time to write them all down. Indeed, it is common for someone who had previously taken a standardized deduction to find their tax burden to be somewhat to significantly decreased as a result of this extra effort ? as much as 30 or 40% in some cases.

With the extra money available for donation that can come from car donation, charity giving can be very useful for bringing one’s income down below the level where they might put you into a higher tax bracket. Near the end of the year there is often an increase in auto donation by those who are nearing a higher bracket they wish to avoid. This can save you quite a bit when done correctly.

Generally it is a good idea to not count on your car netting the sort of value at sale that you might imagine it would, given the Kelly Blue Book value listed. According to current IRS guidelines, car donation to charity that nets over $250 must be accompanied by a receipt that clearly outlines how much value the car actually was able to get (usually when sold on the wholesale or scrap markets) for the charitable organization in question.

Another potentially lucrative use of car donation to charity is using the donation amount as a deduction compared with the expense of fixing up the car yourself for sale later. Though this can actually save some people more money, one is liable for the capital gains of a vehicle that has appreciated since you took ownership at least one year previously. In the case of collectible cars that have already been fixed up, this can represent a real hit. Knowing what cars to donate and which ones to keep a hold of for investment purposes is highly volatile and subject to the other income specifics of such a donor.

It is always a good idea to talk to a CPA, especially if you already have the services of one retained for your regular tax preparation advice. If you own a business, this is especially true. Even the same car donation to charity can vary greatly in its value to an individual’s return.

Accounting is the process of analyzing, classifying, recording, summarizing, and interpreting business transactions in financial or monetary terms. In order to summarize the results of a business activity, each financial transaction must be recorded in a bookkeeping system.

Basics of Accounting :

The owner?s right or claim to assets is expressed by the word equity, or investment. Other terms that may be used include capital, net worth, or proprietorship. Liabilities represent debts and obligations of the business. The business may have a liability to the owner, however, creditors? claims to the assets have priority over the claims of the owner.

An equation expressing the relationship of these elements is called the fundamental accounting equation.

Assets = Liabilities + Owner?s Equity

Revenues are the amounts of assets that a business or other economic unit gains as a result of its operations. For example, revenues represent earnings derived from fees earned for the performing of services, sales involving the exchange of goods, rent income for providing the use of property, and interest income for the lending of money.

Expenses are the amounts of assets that a business or other economic unit uses up as a result of its operations. For example, expenses represent the amount of cash paid for services received, such as wages expense rent expense, interest expense and supplies expense.

Revenues and expenses directly affect owner?s equity. If a business earns revenue, there is an increase in owner?s equity. If a business incurs or pays expenses, there is a decrease in owners equity. So, we place revenue and expenses under the ?umbrella? of owner?s equity.

Assets = Liabilities + Owner?s Equity Capital + Revenue - Expenses

Steps to be followed for good Bookkeeping Systems :

Many methods may be used. At a minimum, certain procedures should be done on a monthly or other periodic basis to make sure that your accounting records are accurate. Some of these steps are as follows:

* All checks written and deposits made should be entered into a check register.

* A monthly bank reconciliation should be done to make sure that all transactions have been recorded (including bank originated charges) and that the ending cash balances to the adjusted bank balance.

* All expenses should be classified into business expense categories to record the various expenditures.

* All deposits made to the account should be identified and classified (e.g., boarding income, interest income and owner contributions).

* A financial statement should be prepared on a periodic basis to understand the results of your operation.

it is extremely important to identify all the sources of deposits to make sure that actual income from operations is not confused with contributions of working capital from the owner.

Advantage of Computerised bookkeeping :

Computerized accounting systems allow you entry of transactions into an automated system to provide a variety of information. Simple accounting packages can be very powerful tools to assist in understanding the results of business operations. After the entry of the basic transactions, the data is available in a number of reports (e.g., cash disbursements register, income statement, balance sheet.) These systems help ?non-accountants? automatically produce standard financial statements without much technical accounting background. Good habits in computer processing procedures must be used to make sure that all the transactions are recorded. Otherwise, the financial information presented may not be accurate.