Car Donation: An Easy Way to Support Your Favorite Charity and Get a Tax Deduction

Most people look forward to getting their tax return, but one of the downsides to filing taxes is that you may find yourself owing the taxman come April 15. What do you do when you realize that you not only owe money, but you owe more than you can pay at the time?

The answer is: charitable deductions.

Did you know that charitable contributions are deductible from your taxes? Most people only think of donations as being cash, and giving away more cash that you don't have won't help you in this case. However, there is another option available - donate your car. Do you have an old car sitting around (even if it doesn't run) that you're not using or are having a hard time selling? If so, you're in luck! Many charities accept car donations, regardless of condition, and this contribution can be deducted from your taxes. There are a few steps you need to take in order to claim a deduction by way of car or other vehicle donation:

First thing you need to do is find out how much value you can get out of the car or other vehicle you plan to donate. Even old cars in poor condition are often accepted for donation, as they can still be sold for parts or scrap. There are sites that specialize in this kind of information, many of them free.

Find a charity or non-profit organization you believe in. It is one thing to donate a car simply for the tax relief, but find a charity that you feel strongly about to donate your car to. You won't only be helping yourself, you will be helping others that you care about.

Thirdly, make your donation - making sure that it is tax deductible. In most cases this will be the full value of the vehicle (actual market value, not Blue Book), but state laws may vary for state income tax purposes. If you have any question about this, you should see your tax advisor.

To prevent over-estimate, the IRS requires people who donate their car to produce a document from the charitable organization specifying the resale price of the car after the car is sold off. Automobiles with retail values up to $500 are exempt from this rule. In any case, make sure you get a receipt detailing your car donation. Requesting a receipt may also be necessary if you have your taxes prepared by a paid preparer.

Donating a car may sound like a big undertaking, but it's not. You can accomplish three things at once - getting rid of an old car that is taking up valuable space, helping your favorite charity, and getting a deduction on your income taxes. If you have an old car and want to reduce your tax payment, donating a car might be right for you!

For more information on car donation, please visit Car Donation For Charity and Tax Relief.

MORE RESOURCES:

Polls show Obama in lead as debate turns to taxes, economy - Bizjournals.com

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0i-0fd=Rurl=http://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/Politics/story%3Fid%3D5920248%26page%3D1cid=1254007716ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNEl_ppE1OwdNmhhB52OYu7aDOwihwimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=bzXNsn2Xk8sJimgurl=a.abcnews.com/images/PollingUnit/rt_obama_mccain_080930_mn.jpg width=80 height=60 alt= border=1brfont size=-2ABC News/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-0fd=Rurl=http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/10/06/daily2.htmlcid=1254007716ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNF_LQQijr71Q5nR0sZkGe_rKXHW3wPolls show Obama in lead as debate turns to btaxes/b, economy/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBizjournals.com,nbsp;NCnbsp;-/font nobr2 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1McCain is expected to follow up on running mate Sarah Palin’s jabs at Obama on btaxes/b, expansion of government and links to former Weather Underground member b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-1fd=Rurl=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DkGFMV18XR1Ycid=1254007716ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNGhE_k_8P4Xu4Pt7ksfH_Hh_K6fXQVideo: VP Debate - Keeping Promises: Given recent financial trou.../a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrCSPAN/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/kGFMV18XR1Y/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/kGFMV18XR1Ytype=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-2fd=Rurl=http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/bookman/entries/2008/10/05/obama_tax_cuts_aimed_at_the_le.htmlcid=1254007716ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNEp_bPncJ3je7Vkl9Sy5S08YcWzhgObama btax/b cuts aimed at the less-than-wealthy/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAtlanta Journal Constitution/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-3fd=Rurl=http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp%3FS%3D9067847cid=1254007716ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNFeukrL9TZKtyLRkfRstsoHS-vhKwbTaxes/b: Who#39;s Offering the Bigger Cuts?/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWIS/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-4fd=Rurl=http://www.humanevents.com/article.php%3Fid%3D28875cid=1254007716ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNFlv28eRIvq1YAS1a--KCdIyRbWdgnobrHuman Events/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-5fd=Rurl=http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1006/p16s01-wmgn.htmlcid=1254007716ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNFmyDl6-PgVvi2nkCywSj_Gx9qsNAnobrChristian Science Monitor/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1254007716hl=ennobrall 638 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

McCain: I#39;m Not Raising Taxes. I#39;m Cutting Medicare! - The Plank on TNR.com

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/10/04/obama_attacks_mccain_on_health_carecid=1252219486ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNG1KrCSnJB6rjALBy8uNeBxEHy-tgimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=ZSgfdq4WFXgJimgurl=cache.boston.com/resize/bonzai-fba/AP_Photo/2008/10/04/1223109620_5307/539w.jpg width=80 height=57 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Boston Globe/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-0fd=Rurl=http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2008/10/06/mccain-i-m-not-raising-taxes-i-m-cutting-medicare.aspxcid=1252219486ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNEpjg_XEkIwsOjQKc9m5H1UD57umQMcCain: I#39;m Not Raising bTaxes/b. I#39;m Cutting Medicare!/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fThe Plank on TNR.com,nbsp;DCnbsp;-/font nobr5 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Barack Obama says John McCain would raise people#39;s btaxes/b by changing the way the IRS looks at health insurance. McCain says he wouldn#39;t. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-1fd=Rurl=http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm%3FDR_ID%3D54846cid=1252219486ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNHLsvq128EWixNkOjKX6NDhCVbrHAObama Criticizes McCain#39;s Health Care Proposal, Saying It Will b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrKaiser network.org/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-2fd=Rurl=http://www.galen.org/component,8/action,show_content/id,68/category_id,0/blog_id,1095/type,33/cid=1252219486ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNFWrJ1Z1BPCkxJjlW3hbbAIdXAE4wMcCain, Health Insurance and bTaxes/b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrGalen Institute/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-3fd=Rurl=http://www.casavaria.com/cafesentido/2008/10/06/633/mccains-healthcare-plan-taxes-employee-benefits-aims-to-force-individuals-onto-open-market/cid=1252219486ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNH3BDf32AX7bwtEWG8JcHQ3vASXcAMcCain’s Healthcare Plan bTaxes/b Employee Benefits, Aims to Force b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrcasavaria sentido/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-4fd=Rurl=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/10/06/before_character_attacks_a_pol.htmlcid=1252219486ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNEYBERM82R4Yn1G8f63MxB9-W77egnobrWashington Post/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-5fd=Rurl=http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/10/obama_mccain_tu.htmlcid=1252219486ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNEWbWtSLTKDEm5c6dD7o8JIWRXTcgnobrBoston Globe/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1252219486hl=ennobrall 1,377 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Looking for low taxes in retirement? Avoid New Jersey - Boston Globe

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-0fd=Rurl=http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2008/10/looking_for_low_2.htmlcid=1254823468ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNHBe-34JEApTjYpu74zzHWhg_tWBALooking for low btaxes/b in retirement? Avoid New Jersey/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBoston Globe,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobr3 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The markets are down and new retirees are looking for the most btax/b efficient places to live because, all else being equal, living in a lower btax/b state can b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-1fd=Rurl=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/study-more-100-tax-related-measures/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B18BDF1CC-B107-41F2-8A20-8547D4419801%257D%26dist%3Dhpprcid=1254823468ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNHsgSXRl5-FA_PoY4LFtgtW528V1wStudy: More than 100 bTax/b-Related Measures to Appear on State b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMarketWatch/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-2fd=Rurl=http://www.opednews.com/articles/Income-Taxes-are-a-Cartoon-by-Allen-Heart-081006-338.htmlcid=1254823468ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNEpQH2MlL78RrdZwDj1DXrWgjJbXQIncome bTaxes/b are a Cartoon of the Law/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrOpEdNews/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1254823468hl=ennobrall 8 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

High sales taxes hurt Arizona#39;s lure to business - Arizona Republic

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-0fd=Rurl=http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/2008/10/06/20081006biz-taxes1006.htmlcid=1254745207ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNHqq-ls7y2NkQVS13RGKyvZLTEQLwHigh sales btaxes/b hurt Arizona#39;s lure to business/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fArizona Republic,nbsp;AZnbsp;-/font nobr11 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1by Betty Beard - Oct. 6, 2008 12:27 AM Arizona#39;s btax/b structure puts it in the middle of the states for being friendly to businesses, but its ranking was b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-1fd=Rurl=http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2008/09/29/daily63.htmlcid=1254745207ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNEQB251zoZ8NM-wtXKyn5ssTbU18gTexas btax/b system earns praise/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMilwaukee Business Journal/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-2fd=Rurl=http://www.star-telegram.com/business/story/954034.htmlcid=1254745207ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNEAsasm1vaMaaVxy8PBslmiGm2ZOgTexas is good for doing business, btax/b group#39;s index says/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrFort Worth Star Telegram/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-3fd=Rurl=http://www.webcpa.com/article.cfm%3Farticleid%3D29419cid=1254745207ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNF5LeDSHMqrl211iLUQCjxJBWS_yQNJ bTax/b System Ranked Least Friendly to Business/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWebCPA/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-4fd=Rurl=http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2008/10/06/daily4.htmlcid=1254745207ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNHKoWNFxPHsakInFRtBBqHepBkv0wnobrBizjournals.com/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-5fd=Rurl=http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/10/06/news/wyoming/27-taxsystem.txtcid=1254745207ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNGsTcBXRAh_4LGP1IbCNZghcq6yXQnobrBillings Gazette/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1254745207hl=ennobrall 13 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Republicans: Elect GOP and limit property taxes - Chicago Tribune

Mauritians Turn to the Internet to Pay Taxes - PC World

McCain and the Factchecking Fallacy - National Review Online

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.wkrg.com/politics/article/fact_check_did_obama_vote_94_times_for_higher_taxes/19661/cid=1254834377ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNHEveFyCf2FXVZ0R12c4vG-o_qaVwimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=VnI1YXFdjkAJimgurl=media.wkrg.com/media/news3/cache/art_b_obama-292x219.jpg width=80 height=60 alt= border=1brfont size=-2WKRG-TV/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-0fd=Rurl=http://article.nationalreview.com/%3Fq%3DMDgxMGU1ZTNlY2Q4MmVkYWM2MGMyYTdhNTg2N2U1NzM%3Dcid=1254834377ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNEmlpjsU6HYtF5dI5k0IOElEHKspwMcCain and the Factchecking Fallacy/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fNational Review Online,nbsp;NYnbsp;-/font nobr6 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Palin said that Barack Obama “had 94 opportunities to side on the people’s side and reduce btaxes/b and 94 times he voted to increase btaxes/b or not support a b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-1fd=Rurl=http://www.wkrg.com/politics/article/fact_check_did_obama_vote_94_times_for_higher_taxes/19661/cid=1254834377ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNHEveFyCf2FXVZ0R12c4vG-o_qaVwFact Check: Did Obama Vote 94 Times for Higher bTaxes/b?/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWKRG-TV/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-2fd=Rurl=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/democratic-national-committee---post/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B7AF8398A-B747-46F6-BE5F-DFA5D5CF81AD%257D%26dist%3Dhpprcid=1254834377ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNGsPD8LFXkarfGxHrF01XV88k7AjgDemocratic National Committee - Post Debate Update: #39;Count the b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMarketWatch/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-3fd=Rurl=http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/nationworld/story/498347.htmlcid=1254834377ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNEeUAJwGzWS5kLcrA4kdsX9Kn6RfgVeteran, ‘maverick’ go at it with different views, styles/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrTheNewsTribune.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-4fd=Rurl=http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-factcheck3-2008oct03,0,5209652.storycid=1254834377ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNFcHwnYUvcyovqRdkTHf6IJskOD6QnobrLos Angeles Times/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-5fd=Rurl=http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/10/03/factcheck-org-loose-with-the-truth-in-st-louis.aspxcid=1254834377ei=hmbqSJabOIGi9gSx45xJusg=AFQjCNGljSVAgreQHWNsrW77-Ueb0rjvggnobrNewsweek/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1254834377hl=ennobrall 41 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

The McCain Comeback Plan: Taxes, Crime, Associations And Real Reform - Atlantic Online

Pay Less Tax on Your Funds - Washington Post

Investors scouting for deals in tax sale - Indianapolis Star

Taxes - Google News

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Tax Trap #3 -- IRS Penalties, Interest and Love Letters
As a small business owner or self-employed person,one of the easiest ways to keep Uncle Sam off your backand out of your life is to file your forms, payments andother paperwork on time.Over the next four months there are several key datesthat you dare not forget! Here they are -- all in one place,along with links to the IRS website PDF file for thatparticular form, where appropriate.

Rental Property Tax Deductions
Own residential rental properties? This article discusses how income from those properties impacts your taxes.What Constitutes Revenue?Generally, rental income is defined as any revenue you receive from the occupancy or use of residential property.