How to Donate a Car to a Veteran's Group

By Jill Leviticus

Overview

Donating your old car or truck is a good way to help a veterans' group and get a tax deduction. Veterans' groups benefit when the vehicle is sold at an auction. The proceeds of the sale are used to fund the charity's activities or services. A vehicle donation can represent a sizeable donation for a veterans' group and you will want to make sure you do some research and choose the right organization before donating your car or truck.

How to Donate a Car to a Veteran's Group

Step 1

Decide which veteran's group you would like to receive your vehicle donation. Many states have veterans' group that accept car and truck donations and you may want to find out if your state has such a group. Nationally, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, the Veterans Memorial Center and the Warrior Foundation accept car donations. You will find links to their websites in the Resource section.
Step 2

Find out if the veterans' group uses another for-profit company to accept donations or if they handle the donations. Intermediary groups often keep 50 percent or more of the profit from a vehicle sale. If you want to make sure that your chosen group receives as much money as possible from your donation, select a group that does not work through an middleman or intermediary group.

Step 3

Look for an intermediary group that charges a low handling fee if the charity of your choice does not handle donations directly. If you live in a remote area and veterans' group headquarters is located some distance away, you may have no choice but to work with a group that uses an intermediary company. You will find several groups that take care of vehicle donations for charitable organizations, including vehiclesforcharity.com, donationonline.com and donateacar.com.
Step 4

Drive your car to the drop-off location if possible. While some organizations, such as the Military Order of the Purple Heart, offer free towing, towing costs the group money. You can help the group save money by bringing your car to the drop-off site.
Step 5

Sign over the title for the vehicle when you drop off the car. Keep a copy of the title and the receipt from the veterans' group with your records. You will receive a formal receipt later in the mail which you will need to claim the donation on your federal taxes.

Skill: Easy
Tip: Groups that accept car and truck donations may also take donations of motorcycles, boats, RVs, snowmobiles and farm equipment. Check with the group to determine if they can use these items.
Warning:
If getting a tax donation is important to you, make sure that the group you choose is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Some groups that accept donations are registered as 501(c)(4) organizations and donations to their programs are not tax-deductible.

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