When you decide to get rid of your mobile home, some ideas might present themselves. One of the top ones is donating. Done right, donating your mobile home can bring benefits like significant tax deductions and the satisfaction of doing something selfless.
You can donate your mobile home to various recipients — for example, a charity to aid the fight against homelessness or to the local fire department.
We’ll dig into the second option—donating a mobile home to your local fire department—telling you everything you need to know for a successful and purposeful donation.
Why You Should Donate Your Mobile Home to Your Local Fire Department
When you want to get rid of your mobile or manufactured home, donating it to the fire department can be a great way to do that. Most times, donations like yours are used for firemen training exercises.
The FireSafe Council consent to this, stating, “Lawful burning of these structures during the course of supervised fire exercises is very useful for firefighters.’’
However, for you, this donation comes with benefits attached:
- Technically, you can earn money from donating your mobile home. Many fire departments will offer you a tax write-off for your donation.
- Depending on where it’s located, the fire department might either choose to safely burn down the house right there in a training exercise or haul off the entire thing. So, you either get cheap demolition or free mobile home removal.
- If it’s burned down, you need only take care of the cleanup, but that’s cheaper than deconstructing or moving the whole house. If they haul it off, that’s even cheaper for you.
- You are contributing to firefighting training and helping to preserve life and property in your community.
Now, back to the tax benefits of donating your mobile home to the fire department, we outline the valuable details you need to know below.
Tax Benefits of Donating Your Mobile Home to a Fire Department
Donating a mobile home to the fire department can be a great way to get some tax benefits. It isn’t only cheaper than demolition but also earns you tax gains.
However, you need to understand the difference between donating the house itself and giving the fire department the right to use it for training purposes.
No charitable contribution is allowed if the fire department is given the right to use the property. However, if you donate the house itself to the fire department, then you can take a charitable contribution deduction for the fair market value of the property.
There is no requirement for a transfer of a deed; a charitable contribution deduction is allowed for the fair market value of property donated to a fire department to be burned down, even when there is no formal deed recording the transfer or the underlying land is not transferred.
It is important to structure the transaction correctly so that it is clear that the property, and not just the right to use the property, is being donated. It can be a complex process, but the tax savings can be worth it! The alternatives, like demolition, can be very expensive.
Reach Out to Your Local Fire Department
Important point to note: Before you can give away your mobile home, call your local fire department to make sure that they accept manufactured homes donations.
We mentioned earlier that the fire department might choose to burn the mobile home for an exercise right there on your land, but this will only happen if the house is located in an isolated lot. Plus, it also depends on the fire department’s policy as some won’t do it at all. When all’s said and done, you’ll still need to get rid of the metal frame.
Burning down the house will reduce the cost of demolition or deconstruction, but not very much. This is a detail you’ll need to hash out with the fire department.
Finally, if you feel your mobile home is still salvageable and shouldn’t be burned down, you can choose a free, safer, cleaner, and more charitable option like donating to a charity.
Conclusion
Donating a mobile home to the fire department is an incredibly beneficial move for those who are looking to clear up space and earn tax benefits. Not only will you be giving back to your community and helping firefighters improve their skills, but you will also be able to save yourself some expenses and get rid of a burden. However, if you decide not to go through with it, you can give it away to charity.
Banyan Mobile Home Removal is the perfect partner for people who wish to give back to those in need. With our services, your donation can make a real difference in the lives of people in need of shelter. Contact us and we’ll get your mobile home off your land for free and help you get maximum tax deduction for your donation.