5 Ways to Avoid Car Donation Scams
Donating a car
are you thinking about donating a car or truck to charity
for a tax deduction unfortunately some of the so-called charities that dominate the airwaves internet and billboards are nothing more than wolves and sheep's clothing
they operate very profitable businesses by taking in car donations and selling them at used car auctions or a scrap-metal sure they donate a portion of their profits to charity they have to in order to keep their charity status with the IRS
but the percentage they donate to charity can be surprisingly
low sometimes as low as 1% here are 5 steps to take to make sure your tax-deductible vehicle donation goes to a worthy charity and not a scammer
and if at the end you decide that worthy charity is Volunteers of America who are we to argue number one cut out the middleman
charity car donation programs
make sure you're donating your car directly to a charity and not to a middleman questionable charity car donation programs are almost always middlemen who take your donated car
sell it donate a fraction to a charity and pocket the rest your donation goes farther when you give a car or truck to a charity that accepts vehicle donations directly
like Volunteers of America for instance an average of eighty eight percent of donations
made to Volunteers of America go to local programs all over the country that serve nearly two million people a year number
two do a charity checkup finding the best charity doesn't have to be a stab in the dark start online the Better Business
Bureau online and Charity Navigator org are both great resources with detailed charity reviews and ratings on the Volunteers of America pages
we display the Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau logos
click on them to read their review of Volunteers of America number three more is better the higher percentage of your donation that goes into programs
that help people the better the IRS doesn't have any standards for the percentage a charity car donation program has to contribute to charity
some actually give less than 10% when you're thinking about donating a car look into what percentage of donations are used for programs that help people reputable
Charity Navigator
charities will offer that information on their website or you can find it through the Better Business Bureau or Charity Navigator Volunteers of America puts an average of 88% of all donations to use in local programs that provide emergency shelter and food for homeless men women and children permanent senior housing shelter
and job training for homeless veterans and more number four look for a local connection
if a charity is vague about the programs they offer and where they offer them it can be a red flag look for a charity that does good work in your area or state
donating to a charity with local programs also allows you to look in on their programs and see how your donation is changing lives Volunteers of America helps nearly 2 million people a year through locally based programs
to learn how we're helping people in your area enter your zip code in the field below
donation program
number 5 double-check that the charity is an official IRS designated 501 C 3 charity
if the charity card donation program you're looking into doesn't have a 501 C 3 designation your deduction could be disallowed
and you could end up writing the IRS a check for taxes interest and penalties to be sure of your tax deduction
the first step is to make sure you're donating to an official 501 C 3 charity donate directly to the charity do a background check of the charity
check the percentage of your donation that helps people find local programs and make sure the charity is an official 501 C 3 charity follow these 5 steps to make sure your car donation does the good you want it to
if you want to find out more about donating a car to Volunteers of America or how we're helping people in your area go to cars helping people org and enter your zip code or click on your state at the bottom of the page