[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 110 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 110

   To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to promote charitable 
                    donations of qualified vehicles.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             January 25 (legislative day, January 5), 2011

  Mr. Ensign introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to promote charitable 
                    donations of qualified vehicles.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. TREATMENT OF QUALIFIED VEHICLE DONATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Subparagraph (A) of section 170(f)(12) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to general rule for 
contributions of used motor vehicles, boats, and airplanes) is amended 
to read as follows:
                    ``(A) In general.--In the case of a contribution of 
                a qualified vehicle, paragraph (8) shall not apply and 
                no deduction shall be allowed under subsection (a) for 
                such contribution unless the taxpayer substantiates the 
                contribution by a contemporaneous written 
                acknowledgment of the contribution by the donee 
                organization that meets the requirements of 
                subparagraph (B) and includes the acknowledgment with 
                the taxpayer's return of tax which includes the 
                deduction.''.
    (b) Content of Acknowledgment.--Subparagraph (B) of section 
170(f)(12) of such Code is amended by striking clauses (iii), (iv), 
(v), and (vi) and inserting the following:
                            ``(iii) In the case of a qualified vehicle 
                        that is not sold by the organization--
                                    ``(I) a certification of the 
                                intended use or material improvement of 
                                the vehicle and the intended duration 
                                of such use, and
                                    ``(II) a certification that the 
                                vehicle would not be transferred in 
                                exchange for money, other property, or 
                                services before completion of such use 
                                or improvement.
                            ``(iv) In the case of any qualified vehicle 
                        the claimed value of which does not exceed 
                        $2,500--
                                    ``(I) the fair market value of the 
                                vehicle as determined in accordance 
                                with regulations prescribed by the 
                                Secretary,
                                    ``(II) a statement that the 
                                deductible amount may not exceed the 
                                fair market value of the vehicle, and
                                    ``(III) if the organization sells 
                                the vehicle without any significant 
                                intervening use or material improvement 
                                a certification that the vehicle was 
                                sold in an arm's length transaction 
                                between unrelated parties.
                            ``(v) In the case of any qualified vehicle 
                        the claimed value of which exceeds $2,500--
                                    ``(I) a qualified appraisal as 
                                defined in subparagraph (E) of 
                                paragraph (11) of this section,
                                    ``(II) a statement that the 
                                deductible amount may not exceed the 
                                appraised value of the vehicle, and
                                    ``(III) if the organization sells 
                                the vehicle without any significant 
                                intervening use or material improvement 
                                a certification that the vehicle was 
                                sold in an arm's length transaction 
                                between unrelated parties.''.
    (c) Contemporaneous.--Subparagraph (C) of section 170(f)(12) of 
such Code (relating to contemporaneous) is amended by striking ``days 
of--'' and all that follows and inserting ``days of the contribution of 
the qualified vehicle.''.
    (d) Regulations.--Subparagraph (F) of section 170(f)(12) of such 
Code (relating to regulations) is amended by striking the last 
sentence.
    (e) Clerical Amendment.--Section 170(f)(12) of such Code, as 
amended by this section, is amended by striking ``acknowledgement'' 
each place it occurs and inserting ``acknowledgment''.
    (f) Penalty for Fraudulent Acknowledgments.--Section 6720 of such 
Code (relating to fraudulent acknowledgment with respect to donations 
of motor vehicles, boats, and airplanes) is amended by striking ``equal 
to--'' and all that follows and inserting the following:
``equal to the greater of--
            ``(1) the product of the highest rate of tax specified in 
        section 1 and the claimed value of the vehicle, or
            ``(2) $5,000.''.
    (g) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to contributions made after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.
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