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When
you decide to donate a car, choose a charity that provides
nationwide service and can pick up car donations in
all 50 states. You'll get better, quicker, and more
professional service. The larger car donation charities
are also more efficient and experienced, and you can
be sure that your donation will be well used. Also,
make sure they clearly explain to you the steps to donating
cars, including how to obtain the fair market value
of cars. A good car donation charity should provide
all of this information on their website, along with
other valuable car donation tips.
The
first thing you want to verify is that the charity of
your choice is eligible to receive deductible car donations.
If it is not a qualified organization, donating cars
to them may not be tax deductible. Donors can use the
IRS Web site to check that an organization is qualified
by searching Publication 78 (http://apps.irs.gov/app/pub78),
which is an annual list of most organizations that are
qualified to receive deductible contributions. You can
also find Publication 78 in many public libraries. Or,
if you prefer, you can call IRS Tax Exempt/Government
Entities Customer Service at 1-877-829-5500 and ask
if the charity is qualified. Be sure to have the organization's
correct name and its headquarters location, if possible.
Before
making vehicle donations, you can review the car donation
organization's state registration and financial filings.
These documents are commonly filed with a state charity
regulator such as the State Attorney General's Office
or the Secretary of State's Office. Donors can use these
records to find out how long a charity has been in existence
and to compare the percentage of revenue the charity
spends on its charitable programs to the percentage
it spends on administrative costs. This is an important
number, as it can help show how effective the charity
is at what it does, and how much of the proceeds of
your car donation will go to actual charity programs,
and how much goes to overhead.
Besides
Publication 78, another good resources to start
with when looking for a qualified charity is www.guidestar.org
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