Know the status of your recipient. In order for
you to qualify for a deduction, the charity that gets your donation must
be an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) organization. Your church, synagogue,
mosque or temple likely qualifies. (Check first just to make sure.) You
also can visit the Internal Revenue Service’s Web site
and search for Publication 78 to find other qualifying non-profit
organizations. (Just type “78” into the search field on the IRS home
page and you’ll be directed to the right publication.)
Do the delivery yourself. Once you’ve identified a worthy charity, recognize that it will have to pay someone to pick up your car or boat for you. To help the charity maximize the benefit of your donation, drop the car or boat off yourself.
Transfer the car with care. Want to eliminate all risk of running up parking tickets and other violations after you’ve said goodbye to your donated car? Then formally re-title the car to the charity, and report the transfer to your state’s department of motor cars or licensing. Never agree to leave the ownership space on the charity donation papers blank.