Donate Cars: Help Others While Relieving Yourself of an Old Car

If you live in the U.S. and you've decided to donate a car or truck to charity, you will be eligible to receive a tax write-off. When you donate a vehicle to a qualifying nonprofit organization, you are doing a good deed and receiving tax benefits at the same time. It's a win-win situation for both you and the nonprofit organization receiving your car donation. Before you make arrangements to donate your car to charity, you need to make sure that the organization you're donating to is a registered nonprofit organization that qualifies under IRS guidelines. This ensures that you can claim the donation. If you know what to look for when you are researching organizations, you'll be able to find a worthy cause that's also recognized by the IRS.

Finding Nonprofit Organizations That Accept Donated Cars

Some organizations will not accept the donation of a car because they are not equipped to handle the donations. They may not have mechanics available to repair the vehicle for sale or don't know how to accept donations of property. To find an organization that will accept a vehicle donation and to learn more about how to donate cars visit the Center for Car Donations website at: www.centerforcardonations.com.

The Center for Car Donations website has information on a variety of worthy organizations that need your help. These groups include foster child, military, hospice, and after-school charity programs. You have total control over where your donation will be sent.

As above noted when you wish to donate a vehicle to a nonprofit organization you want to make sure that it is recognized as an official nonprofit organization and there are ways that you can do that. A qualifying organization will have a federal tax ID number and a tax exempt certificate on file. If you don't check for this information, you can't be sure you will receive credit for your donation. Once your donation has been completed, you will need to get a receipt for tax purposes. This should be signed by a representative of the organization and contain a detailed description of your donation.