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.

[pneely]

Agreed. Keep in mind that you can deduct more for the car if you take the extra effort to find a charity that will actually use the car. Then you can deduct Kelly Blue Book value.

The charity also needs to be 501(c)(3). The IRS has a searchable database of every charity in the US that has that status, so you should confirm that the charity you are giving to is on that list.

[PetMom]

Used to be there was a lot of publicity on donating your car to charity. Not much of that, or so it seems. I remember some investigative reporter found out the facts you write about and you are right sell the car and give the cash - that is the most profitable option for the charity.

[mom-from-missouri]

I have donated one, a mini van, that was still very decent. I gave it to a Christian children's home that our church supports. They were needing vans to haul kids in. Last I knew, they were still driving it. I took the tax deduction for it, but even more meaningful to me is the fact that they are still using it 5 years later.

Until that time I had been driving it and my car, but bought a trailer and needed a 4 wheel drive to pull the trailer. Seemed silly for a single mom (at that time) to have 3 vehicles...

[natalypj]

See if there is a local Ways to Work program in your area that will accept car donations - this is a good program that helps low income people buy a car, or fix their car, offering them low interest loans. If your car is still road worthy, they may be able to pass it on to a client.

[2bfrugal]

We had an old vehicle and got more from a metal scrapper for it than we would get selling it outright. So, we sold it for scrap and donated the money.