Taxes Information

How to Donate Your Car to Charity and Get Tax Deduction


Donating your used car to charity is a win-win situation; the charity gets your gift and you get tax deduction. Below are some simple steps to make a car donation.

1. Understand the rules. A good place to read the government rule on car donation is IRS Publication 4303, A Donor's Guide to Car Donations (available on the IRS's website at www.irs.gov). This guide outlines some important rules regarding car donation. For example, one important rule states that car donation must be made to qualified organizations in order to be tax deductible.

2. Determine the value of your used car. Although the blue book might help you determine the value of your car, you should read IRS Publication 561, Determining the Value of Donated Property (available on the IRS's website), to see what your car really worth.

3. Find a charity to donate your vehicle. If you are associated with any charity or non-profit organizations, that organization might be your choice for donating your car. Otherwise, check the Yellow Book or search on the Internet to find an organization to which you feel like donating your car. After you have identified a candidate, you should review IRS Publication 78, which is a list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions. This document is also available on the IRS's website and it's searchable. Make sure the candidate charity is eligible. Otherwise, you might not get your tax deduction!

4. Make your donation. After you have made the donation, make sure to ask for a written acknowledgement from the charity. You will need to attach this acknowledgement to your tax return in order to get your tax deduction.

John Lee is a freelance Internet writer. He has written articles for websites such as Car Donation Helper, (http://www.car4donation.com)


MORE RESOURCES:

Zell Opts for Debt Investing, Awaits Housing Rebound (Update1)
Bloomberg - 1 hour ago
21 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Sam Zell, founder of the largest publicly traded apartment landlord in the US, is investing in distressed debt instead of real ...
Zell Focusing on Debt Investing While Awaiting Housing Rebound Bloomberg
all 4 news articles


For investing, PCs are hands-down winners vs. Macs
USA Today - 12 hours ago
Both will run Web browser software, allowing you to complete 99% of the investing and money management tasks you'd want to do. ...


Investing in the Olympics
U.S. News & World Report, DC - 54 minutes ago
The S&P 500 and the Dow have tumbled over the past year, but here's one unlikely index that's posting respectable returns: the Dow Jones 2008 Summer Games ...


Mergers and Acquisitions Offer Unique Investment Opportunities ...
MarketWatch - 5 hours ago
That's the conclusion of the latest Taking Stock commentary by members of the Core/Value Investing Team at Turner Investment Partners. ...


Investing in wine Buyers and cellars
Economist, UK - 3 hours ago
Speculators are allowed to buy a portion of the stuff in the hope that the wine proves to be a hit with the retail and investment market two or three years ...


The Lazy Investor's Guide to Retirement Success
Motley Fool - 5 hours ago
By John Rosevear For many of our Foolish readers, investing is a passion. But I know that for some of you, it's just something that needs to be done, ...


RBC Direct Investing expands offering with Model Portfolios
Canada NewsWire (press release), Canada - 5 hours ago
21 /CNW/ - Do-it-yourself investors at RBC Direct Investing now have access to a new feature that makes it easier for them to create a personal investment ...
Buying mutual funds? Here's some advice Rediff
With funds, buy and hold doesn't always pay off Globe and Mail
all 7 news articles


Investing advice
Storm Lake Pilot Tribune, IA - 3 hours ago
Investing it wisely can make that inheritance go a long way. "I think people move quickly when they get money quickly," says Brianne Babel, ...


Investor listing decision is a matter of class
The Age, Australia - 5 hours ago
ONE of the principles of investing is diversification. This week's announcement by AXA that it will be listing its Wholesale Australia Property Fund on the ...


Cynicism, Scarce Data Among the Barriers to Eco-Friendly ...
GreenBiz, CA - 3 hours ago
The 27-page report — "Environmental, Social and Governance: Moving to Mainstream Investing?" — examines how mainstream financial institutions are ...

Investing - Google News

home | site map
© 2006