How To Donate A Car
So you've decided to get rid of your old car, but don't want to just sell it to a used car dealer. One if the best options today is to donate your car to charity. When you donate your car it is a win-win situation for everyone. You get the full Blue-Book value for your car and some needy person or family receives a great used car. You should always donate the car to the specific charity directly. This will avoid any middle-man hidden fees and you can be sure that the vehicle and money get to the people who need it most.
Donate A Car To Charity
You're ready to get rid of your old car and do something good in the process. Most car charity's will accept any vehicle that runs. So just because you might think that it's not worth donating, they will be able to find someone to give it to. 
And this is one big advantage that charity's have over typical used car dealerships. A used car dealer might only be looking for newer cars that they can turn around and sell. If the car you are donating has problems with it, the used car dealership might not want the hassle of dealing with warranty's and having to refund money to buyers. That's why that old 80's and early 90's car with over 180,000 miles is perfect for donating. It may be old to you, but to someone in need it is the perfect gift.
Where To Donate A Car
Here's a list sorted by State to the different charities where you can donate your vehicle.Here is also a link to an alphabetical listing to every Car Donating Charities in the United States.
Delivery can be made in basically two ways. Either you can drive and drop off the car yourself or have someone from the auto charity come and pick up the vehicle.
How To Get A Tax Deduction For Donating Your Car
Before you donate your car to charity, there's a few things you want to do to make sure you get the full deduction on your taxes at the end of the year. First thing is to take pictures of the vehicle, just in case the IRS comes, you want to have physical proof that you did own and then donate the car. Second, determine the Kelly Blue Book value of the car before you go to drop it off. It only takes around 30 seconds to input your car's information and you will get different values for your car, based on condition.
To get the Maximum Tax Deduction you should make sure that you get the Private Party Value and not the Trade In Value. This is another advantage over taking your car to the dealership, the private party value is always higher then the trade in value of a vehicle.
Now, make sure you GET A RECEIPT and keep it in a safe place until tax time. This is the most important "proof" that you have to show the IRS in case they ask for it.
When it does come time to start filling out your taxes, that is when you will receive the money for the car. You will be filling out a different section based on the value of the car you donated. If the car was valued LESS than $5,000 then you will fill out Section A - Form 8232. If your donated car is worth MORE than $5,000 then you will fill out Section B - Form 8232. It's not complicated at all, just 1 page for each section. Here is a link to a PDF of the IRS Form 8283 for Noncash Charitable Contributions. If you do have any questions, here's a link to the IRS Instructions for Form 8283.
Hopefully everything goes well, you donate your car to a family who really needs it and you receive the full value of what the car is worth. In my opinion, the best part of this whole process is that you don't have to deal with those questionable used car dealers trying to rip you off.
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