Renting a Truck for Humanitarian Efforts? Here's What You Need to Know

Posted on: 7 November 2016

Whether it is delivering food and supplies to a hurricane-affected area or simply taking collected furniture and items to a home for a family who is in need, having access to a vehicle for your humanitarian efforts is always an important thing. Thankfully, finding a rental-truck service is fairly easy no matter where you are located. However, renting a truck for humanitarian or charitable purposes is a lot different than renting a truck as the average consumer. Here is a quick look at a few things you need to know about renting a truck for your humanitarian efforts. 

Letting the rental-truck company know about your humanitarian efforts could help. 

Some truck-rental companies work directly with nonprofit agencies or individuals providing charitable services to those in need. They may work with you to find an affordable rental rate or even allow you to keep possession of the truck outside of the usual rental time frame so you can complete your tasks. Therefore, when you are renting a truck, make sure you let the company know who you are and what your intentions are with the vehicle. You will likely be able to get a better rate than the average consumer. 

Renting a truck for charitable purposes could be tax deductible. 

Because you are not renting the truck for your own personal needs, the expenses involved in renting the vehicle could be tax deductible. The fees you pay are a direct result of your charitable act, and that means the cost could be viewed as a donation just like the goods you are donating. Make sure you retain copies of your receipts for fuel purchased for the vehicle and of the paperwork from the rental company and provide them to your tax preparer at the end of the year. 

Working with a large-scale truck-rental company could help make your efforts easier.

If your humanitarian efforts involve delivering goods out of town, it is sometimes better to work with a large-scale truck-rental company than it is to go with a small local truck-rental company. This is because these bigger companies usually have several drop-off locations in different cities for their customers. Having access to more than one drop-off location will make it possible for you to deliver the goods where they need to go and not have to drive the vehicle all the way back home, and that could mean higher end costs. 

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