Donating a Car

Advantages

• Donating your vehicle frees you from the hassles of selling it. No more phone calls at all hours of the day and night. No need to spend time showing your car to strangers and accompanying them on test drives.

• You can choose the charity of your choice, and feel like a true pillar of society.

• Most donations are tax-deductible.

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

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

Disadvantages

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

How to Protect Yourself Against Fraud

• Do some research. The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Publication 78 is a superb source for determining a charity's legitimacy and tax-exemption status.

• Read the IRS's Donating a Car to Charity pamphlet, with valuable guidelines for selecting a charity, valuing your car, and obtaining written documentation for proper recordkeeping.

• Read Donating Your Car, How to Make Sure You Aren't Getting Duped, our take on the process.

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

A Few Texas Car Donation Charities

• American Council of the Blind

• Habitat for Humanity

• Mental Health Association

• Outreach Center

• Salvation Army

• Southern Search and Rescue

• Special Kids Fund

• Texas Animal Rescue League