Contributing A Car To Charity
QUESTION 67: CONTRIBUTING A CAR TO CHARITY
I want to contribute my old car to a charity, and the
charity says that they will write me a receipt - for tax
deduction purposes - for the full 'book value' of the car.
There are some major things wrong with the car, that makes
its actual value less. Is there a problem in using this
receipt on my taxes?
RABBI BELSKY
I don't think this is a problem because this is the standard
the government uses. The government's rules are that you
should use the book-value of the car, and all you are doing
is following the rules specified by the government.
NEXT WEEK'S QUESTION 68: CHILDREN IN A MOTEL ROOM
Many, but perhaps not all, motels allow a maximum of four
children with their parents in a room. Once when I was making
a reservation for a motel, they asked me if there were any children
staying with us, and I said there would be four children in our
room. At the last minute, a fifth child wanted to come. When
I arrived at the motel, am I obligated to say we have five
children with us, even though this motel never explicitly told
me that four children in a room is their limit? If I tell
them about the fifth child, I run the risk that I might be
talking to an employee who knows that I can't find another
motel at this late time, and could use this as an excuse to
make me take a second room.
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