Donate a Car to Charity — Reduce Your Taxes

It”s End Of The Year — time for the last minute donations to take something off of this year”s taxes! Donate Car! Donate A Boat!

The Internet is a great way to find a charity that will accept car donation &mdaash; or boat donation; The process makes it easy to get rid of that old car and take a donation, instead of just trading it in at the dealership.

Basically, the process is that you identify the organization to whom you can make a tax-deductible donation. Then, you contact them. They arrange and pay for a tow truck to pick up the vehicle, if it does not run. You sign the title over to them.

Once they get the donated car or donated boat, they almost always dispose of it promptly via a reselling or auction process.

Be sure to talk with your tax advisor and/or check the tax laws closely to identify the docuementation you will need to support your deduction. This is especially important with respect to the valuation of the donation, since you are donating a “thing,” not money.

Also, be sure to take pictures of the vehicle before you donate it in order to be able to prove the condition (or at least how it looks).