Automobile Donation
Is there a clunker cluttering up your driveway? By donating your car to charity, you’ll gain tax benefits and get old paint out of the way … all while doing some good. But it’s not all altruism in the automobile donation biz, to be sure …
You’ll want to check out the automobile donation organization carefully. You can never ask too many questions …
How long have they been in business? How much of the revenues generated by the sale of each vehicle actually goes to the charity? Will the company provide a written receipt for the donated automobile? Will they tell you the donated vehicle’s actual sale price at wholesale auction? (This is especially important now that the government has ceased to allow you to write off the Fair Market Value of your donated automobile.)
Kelly’s Blue Book offers solid advice for folks interested in donating their cars to charity:
Make sure the charity is a name you recognize and trust.Be careful of ‘sound-alike’ charities. Just because you’ve heard an ad on the radio for a charity does not mean it is legitimate. Call the Better Business Bureau to determine if the charity you have chosen is a recognized organization.
Ask how much money the charity receives.
According to a government report, more than $34 million was donated in automobile revenue in 2000, however, only 32% of the gross revenue was returned to the charity. To work with charities that receive the maximum amount of return, visit http://www.auto-donation.com.
Sign the title over directly to the charity or their agent.
Don’t leave the title blank under any circumstances. Many illegitimate charities ask that the title be left blank. This practice may leave
you liable for the vehicle months after it has been donated.
Get a receipt.
When you make any non-cash contributions, you must get a receipt from the charitable organization including the name of the charity, their tax ID, date, location of the contribution. Keep the receipt to justify your deduction.
Integrity is of utmost importance. There are scads of automobile donation firms. If the first one you contact doesn’t seem like it’s on the up-and-up, don’t hesitate to move on to the next one on the list …
Related: Auto Donation Call
