So how can you go about making an automobile donation and still be assured that your donation is going to help those who you are intending.

The first step is to see if the charity is legitimate. The best way is to search the IRS website and see if the charity you plan to donate to is listed. This is a database of all registered non profit groups with tax exempt status. It is important that your charity is listed here if you are interested in a tax deduction from your automobile donation.

Second, you should take a look at how much of your donation goes to operating costs and what goes to the actual charity. Documents available through your state Attorney Generals office should list the operating cost of registered charities. Expect this to be 15% to 20% for a well run organization.

Whenever possible donate you car to the charity directly. This is going to save a lot of processing costs associated with using a for profit service that deals with the processing of the donated cars. By finding a charity that will accept the donations directly their costs are kept down and more of your donation goes to those you intended.

If you want a tax deduction then you need to know the right way to get one. You want to be sure to check out the IRS database mentioned earlier because you will have to get a receipt for your deduction and it must be from a registered non profit groups like those listed in this database.

Next , you have to sign over the automobiles title. When you are making an automobile donation to a charity you have to be sure it is the non profit group that you are signing the title over to. If you sign it over to a for-profit company that is hired by the charity to process the car then you could end up having some problems around tax time.

Finally you want to know the value of the donation. Often you will have to contact the charity and find out the value that they actually received for the donation. You will then be able to write off this amount on you taxes.

A few years ago laws changed on how car donations were being valued to reduce the amount of over inflating the price many people would do. Now you can accept a basic $500 deduction or wait until the charity has received their money and have them issue a receipt that reflects this value.

There will always be people out there who try to make a quick buck at the expense of others. We are all forced to be a lot more careful as a result. However donating a car to charity is still a great way to help out those in need while getting rid of and old clunker at the same time. Don’t let a few scam artists stop you from making a difference. Just do a bit of homework and you will find a great place to donate your old car.