Donating a car to charity can provide a win-win for everyone involved. The charity will get a car that they can use and you get a deduction on your taxes.

Donating a car to charity is a fairly simple process.

Once you have an automobile, boat, trailer, RV or motorized wheelchair that you wish to donate you need to find a qualified charity to donate it to.

To verify an organization’s status call the IRS Customer Account Services division for Tax Exempt and Government Entities at (877) 829-5500.

Once you find a qualified charity to donate your car to just contact them about making the donation.

Some charities offer to come and retrieve your vehicle for you, but that means less money for the charity so it is a good idea to get the car to the charity yourself if you can.

Note that most charities will even accept cars that no longer run!

To claim the deduction your taxes you have to obtain written acknowledgment from the charity if the total deduction you are claiming for a donated car is $250 or more.

And if the deduction you are claiming is greater than $5,000 you must get a written appraisal of your car.

Note that you are only able to deduct the fair market value of your car on your taxes. This is not the same as the “blue book” value of the car.

When filing your taxes you will need to itemize your deductions on Schedule A of Form 1040.

Be sure to check for limitations regarding your individual tax situation.

And remember that your deduction cannot exceed 50% of your adjusted gross income.