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.

• No need to spend your time showing strangers the car and accompanying them for test drives.

• 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.

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

A Few Colorado Car Donation Charities

• Cars for Colorado

• Cars For Kids

• Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

• American Lung Association of Colorado

• Alzheimer's Association Rocky Mountain Chapter

• Colorado Public Radio

• United Children's Fund

IRS Charity Guide

The IRS's Publication 78 lets you search for qualified charities. Or call the IRS Customer Service Accounts Services Division for Tax Exempt and Government Charities at (877)829-5500.

Remember that many religious organizations are not listed (they're not required to apply to the IRS), but are qualified; find out by calling.