Donating a Car

Donating Advantages

• Donating your vehicle emancipates you from the hassle of selling, freeing you from advertising and getting badgered with phone calls at all times of the day and night.

• Most donations are tax deductible.

• Most charities provide either free pick-up service or convenient pick-up locations.

• You don't need to replace your vehicle's pocked windshield or cracked timing belt. Most charities will accept your vehicle, regardless of condition.

Donating Disadvantages

One word: fraud. Due to limited state and federal oversight, con artists have stained the integrity of the car donation program under the camouflage of false charities. The repercussions don't reach you until tax time, when you coldly discover your expected tax deduction has been rejected.

How to Protect Yourself Against Fraud

• Do some research to protect yourself. The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Publication 78 serves as a superb source for determining a charity's legitimacy and tax exemption status.

• Check with either Pennsylvania's Attorney General's Office or Department of State's Office for access to a specific charity's financial filings.

Taking the Deduction

Before you put your John Hancock on your tax return, take some time to read the IRS's A Donor's Guide to Car Donation. It has lots of valuable information that most people haven't thought of. For instance, did you know that the fair market value of the car is not the same as the Kelley Blue Book value? Reading this short guide will save you from big headaches.

A Few Pennsylvania Car Donation Charities

• Glaucoma Research Foundation

• Habitat for Humanity

• Kidney Foundation of Central Pennsylvania

• National Autism Association of Pennsylvania

• Outreach Center

• The Child Abuse Hotline

• US Doctors for Africa