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 even night.

• You can choose the charity of your choice, allowing you to 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 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

Charity fraud is the main wince. 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 Virginia's Attorney General's Office for access to a specific charity's financial filings.

Taking the Deduction

Review the IRS's Donor's Guide to Car Donation, which tells you how to calculate the value of your car as a deduction―it won't be the same as the blue book value―and lots of other useful information.

If you have any further questions, check with your favorite tax professional.

Some Virginia Car Donation Charities

• Alzheimer's Association

• Disabled Police Officers Counseling Center

• Easter Seals

• Habitat for Humanity

• Heritage Humane Society

• Kempe Foundation

• Paralyzed Veterans of America

• Planned Parenthood

• Teddy Bear Cops

• The Arc of Northern Virginia

• Teen Challenge

• Virginia Association of the Blind

• Virginia German Shepherd Rescue

• Virginia Outreach Center

• Related Topics

  • Locations & Hours
  • Title Transfers
  • Replacing a Lost Title
  • Replacing a Lost Registration
  • Vehicle History Reports