Read this Before donating a car to charity

[terry1156]

My friend was going to donate a car to charity and aske me to do some research on the best charity to donate it to. I learned some suprising things:

A California study says that most charities (80 percent) received less than 60 cents for every dollar value of vehicle (fundraisers get the rest)

The IRS advises that you make sure that the charitable organization is qualified, that you speak directly to the charity, and that you examine state filings for more information before making a car donation,.

Your tax deduction for the donation is only good if you itemize your deductions on your tax returns.

In most cases, you would be better off selling the car at a discount and giving the money directly to the charity than giving the car if your main goal is to help the charity.

[Tree0164]

I have donated two cars to charity within the past 6 years. Both cars were runned down to the ground and didn't owe us anything. Rather than have to deal with the hassle of trading in and getting a couple of hundred for it, we took the tax deduction. We donated both of them to the salvation army.

[Sara]

We just donated a 93 Cougar. This car was really run down. I definitely feel the donation was the best decision. We itemize our taxes. Much easier to donate it and just fill out an 8283 than try to sell it.