Finding the Right Charity when You Want to Donate a Car.

It sounds too good to be true: Donate a car to charity, avoid the hassle of selling it, and score a charitable tax deduction at one fell swoop. Everybody wins, right? Not necessarily. Keep this is mind: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Before you donate a car to charity, make sure you are dealing with a reputable charity such as the DonateACar2Charity.com program of Activated Ministries, a 501(c)3 tax exempt charity.

Read over the following tips before you donate a car to charity:

• Find a worthy charity. If the charity you normally support isn’t equipped to accept such donations, you need to do some homework until you find a reputable charity that is. DonateACar2Charity.com specializes in helping folks like you donate a car to an IRS approved 501(c)3 charity and determine if your vehicle is eligible for a fair market value donation and if you can write the full blue-book value of your vehicle off on your taxes.
• Avoid middlemen who skim off your donation. Numerous organizations advertise aggressively on TV, billboards and elsewhere, offering to help you donate a car to charity. Here’s the catch: These organizations sometimes keep a large percent of the vehicle’s value for themselves, and charities see less of the donation than if you went to them directly. Also, when you use one of these organizations – your donation may not be eligible for a tax deduction. When you donate to DonateACar2charity.com, 100% of the proceeds go to a good cause and they can help you determine if you are eligible for a tax deduction.
• Know the status of your charity of choice. In order for you to qualify for a deduction, the charity that gets your donation must be an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) organization. Check before you donate to make sure. You also can visit the Internal Revenue Service’s Web site and search for Publication 78 to find other qualifying non-profit organizations.

You want to donate a car to charity to give back to the community as well as receive a charitable tax deduction on your return. By doing a little research before hand, you can make sure that you are eligible for a deduction when you donate a car and that your donation is going to a good cause and not lining the pockets of the middleman.