Donate My Car - How To Choose The Right Charity
It feels good to give to charity. You can give your possessions, time or money to help others in need. Whatever you donate, you want to know how to choose a reliable charity. When I wanted to donate my car, I chose the Goodwill. I knew they are legally permitted to accept donations, and I could be certain that I would be getting a legitimate tax deduction. You must make sure that any organization you choose to donate a vehicle to is registered with the IRS as a 501 non-profit public charity. Otherwise, you could be dealing with a less than honest group of people and end up getting in trouble with the IRS.
When you purchase a new vehicle, donating your old one may be your best option instead of a trade-in or private sale. If donation is the option you select, ask yourself this question: How do I choose a reliable charity to donate my car to? You can contact the charities by phone or online. Many charities advertise on radio, television or by newspaper. Any of the reliable charities will ensure that you have step by step instructions to complete the process. When you donate a car with a clear title you also avoid the hassle of selling a car. There are no test drives, phone calls or price haggling to complete the deal. Most charities even come to pick up your vehicle to make the process even simpler. If pickup is important to you, ask in advance as you are choosing a charity.
Make sure you have the model, make, year and Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and title when you contact a charity to inquire on the donation process. You also want to look up the book value on your vehicle prior to contacting the organization. The legal requirement as mentioned above will be standard throughout the United States. Other laws and rules may apply and differ from state to state. You can research this information online or even contact your tax advisor before you finalize the donation.
The process of donating your car is not difficult at all, especially when the charity you are working with provides you the easy steps you need to take to complete the transaction. If you would rather not complete the steps, such as getting the book value of your vehicle and scheduling the pick up, there are organizations which will complete the donation process for you free of charge.
Select a charity you believe in. The Salvation Army serves people a little differently than The Goodwill. Some religious organizations collect automobiles for charity. If you choose the Catholic Community Services or Jewish Family Services, you will be helping people in need as well as the church.
Make sure you clean your vehicle out before they come to retrieve your charitable contribution, otherwise you will find yourself rushing to make sure everything is out of the car and risk forgetting something. Check the trunk, floors, seat cracks, ashtrays, visors and glove-boxes. If you forget something in the car, it may be difficult or impossible to retrieve anything you may have left. You may also want to gauge the gasoline tank to make sure that you leave enough gas for the organization to move it around, but take advantage of using the majority of the last full tank that you put into your old car.
Your vehicle donation will help others in need. However, most times the vehicles are not driven or used by the charities but auctioned off so the proceeds from the sale of the car can be used to fund programs and services provided by the individual charity. Not only will you have the satisfaction of helping a good cause, you will get a tax advantage when you file your taxes for the year in which you donate your car.