You might think that the only things that you can possibly get out of donating junk cars is clearing some space in your yard, and giving the local pest population one less nesting spot. While these are both true and completely valid reasons for donating junk cars, they are by no means the only reasons there are. For one thing, you can actually get a deduction off of your taxes, just for donating that old automobile of yours.
You might be wondering how you junk car buyers can take a deduction for donating junk cars. After all, your automobile obviously does not work, or else you would have already sold it to someone. There are a few reasons why people usually have these old automobiles lying in ruin on their property: No title. The car is inoperable. Or it is missing parts. No matter which one of these reasons have prevented you from selling your used car, it is not a problem as far as charitable vehicle donation.
While the car that you donate may not have any sort of value to you, it most certainly does have value aplenty to someone. First, you want to determine which charitable organization that you want to donate to. There are plenty that accept car donations, including the ASPCA, American Diabetes Association, or even the Habitat for Humanity car donation program. You want to check with each charity directly to follow the guidelines for automobile donation. In terms of claiming your tax deduction, you want to carefully follow the IRS car donation rules to become knowledgeable on how much you can writeoff.
Donate or sell your used car?
A lot of people do not realize it but you can either donate your automobile outright or you can act as the middleman and sell your used car and donate the proceeds to charity. One of the advantages to going this route is if you can decide how much you want to donate to charity, or even which charity to donate to – while many large charities have automobile donation programs, your favorite local charity may not. In this case, you can still make your donation count and here’s how:
Suppose your car sells for $1000 – you can donate half of that amount to the charity of your choice and keep the proceeds for the other half for a rainy day. If you choose to go this route, you can do the research to find a buyer, or you can consult a national service like Buy My Wreck. This company will make an offer based on the year, make, model and condition of your vehicle, schedule a time and date for pickup, and many times, you can get cash for your junk car on the spot. You can take your proceeds and donate a portion of it to your favorite charity.