You are encouraged to consult a professional tax advisor, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), or the Virginia Department of Taxation to determine your eligibility. DMV cannot make that determination.
You are encouraged to consult or seek advice from a professional tax advisor to determine the actual documentation necessary to claim the charitable tax deduction since particular tax matters affect individuals differently. However, the IRS has advised DMV that a copy of your registration card may serve as a receipt for your donation. DMV has included a statement across the bottom of your registration card to reflect that a portion of the license plate fee was a charitable donation.
According to the IRS, because of the way revenue sharing works in Virginia, the recipient of your donation for tax purposes is the Virginia DMV.
In some cases, revenue-sharing license plates are redesigned or discontinued due to low sales. Even if your plate design is discontinued, your registration card will still indicate that a portion of the fee you paid was a charitable donation. The Virginia DMV will continue to be the recipient for tax purposes.
If you do not see your plate on our website, it may be listed in the Discontinued Revenue-Sharing License Plate section of DMV’s list of Revenue Sharing License Plates.
You may be eligible to claim the possible charitable tax deduction for previous years, but you may be required to amend your filed federal tax returns with the IRS. You are encouraged to consult or seek advice from a professional tax advisor to determine the appropriateness of amending your filed federal tax returns.
Generally, you may only claim a charitable tax deduction up to the amount of the license plate fee that would be shared with the charity or qualifying public program in Virginia. For most revenue-sharing license plates, the General Assembly has designated $15 of each $25 plate fee as the revenue that would be shared. Your registration card will indicate the amount for your particular plate; however, you may also check the DMV web page for your plate for additional information.
In order to maximize your potential tax benefit for purchasing or maintaining a valid revenue-sharing license plate, you are encouraged to consult or seek advice from a professional tax advisor to determine the actual dollar amount of your charitable tax deduction.
No. Souvenir plates are not revenue-sharing.
The name of the organization that sponsors your plate is provided on the plate's web page and on the alphabetical listing of all available revenue-sharing license plates.
The organization that sponsors your plate is limited in how it can use the funds from plate sales by the legislative authorization of the plate. Most authorizations direct the funds to support the operation and programs of the organization in Virginia. Your plate's web page provides a brief summary of how the plate's authorization directs the funds. See the alphabetical listing of all available revenue-sharing plates.
If you are interested in general use of funds, charities are required to spend all charitable donations in support of their mission. As such, the IRS is responsible for ensuring donations are spent accordingly. You may obtain a charity's financial documents, if available, through Charity Navigator or through the Charitable Organization Database of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) Office of Charitable and Regulatory Programs.
From time to time, charities will change their contact information, so, in order to obtain the latest information, you are encouraged to check Charity Navigator or the Charitable Organization Database of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) Office of Charitable and Regulatory Programs.
DMV makes annual disbursements to qualifying revenue-sharing program participants. Information regarding these disbursements may be requested from DMV under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.