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.

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

• Most donations are tax deductible.

• No haggling for a fair trade-in value with quick-talking car salesmen.

• No haggling with a potential buyer.

• 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. The IRS also offers guidance to car donation and taking the tax exemption.

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

A Few Wisconsin Car Donation Charities

• Wisconsin Outreach Center

• Child Abuse Hotline

• Car Angel

• Wisconsin Humane Society

• Society of St. Vincent de Paul

• American Heart Association

• Kars 4 Kids