(PRWEB) March 20, 2006 — Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles (www.habitatla.org) is pleased to welcome a new partner joining its mission to eliminate poverty housing in the community. Audi of Downtown L.A. is the first auto dealer in Los Angeles to partner with Habitat for Humanity and Cars for Homes™, the auto donation branch of Habitat for Humanity. On March 23, 2006 Audi of Downtown L.A. will host a kick off event at its new facility located at the corner of Washington and Figueroa during which they will present a $5,000 check to Habitat for Humanity to help build / revitalize a home a few miles from its new dealership. The Reyes Family, who will build their home in partnership with Habitat and Audi, will be on hand to join Audi executives and employees in the celebration.

Audi of Downtown L.A. and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles created this partnership to raise awareness for Habitat for Humanity’s new car donation program Cars for Homes ™ (www.carsforhomes.org), which generates revenue to build homes for Los Angeles families in need. Audi of Downtown L.A. also has a long-standing commitment to supporting the revitalization of the community. Audi’s partnership will include the initial cash donation of $5,000 plus proceeds from every vehicle sold between March 23rd and April 23rd. In addition, Audi is donating a brand new 2006 Audi A3, which will be raffled off at the organization’s annual golf tournament hosted by Fannie Mae in September. Tickets are available for $100 each until August 31, 2006 at www.habitatla.org.

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By TOM SPOTH, Sun Staff

Here’s a way to get rid of that old clunker of a car, without the hassle of placing an ad or haggling with an auto dealership over a trade-in.

Best of all, you can feel good about yourself — and even save a little money on your taxes next year.

Just donate your unwanted vehicle to charity. In the year 2000, an estimated 733,000 people claimed a total of $654 million in tax deductions for donated vehicles, according to a November 2003 report from the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO).

All it takes is a phone call. There are numerous companies that will pick up your vehicle, sell it, and give the proceeds to a charity.

Beware, though: The IRS is cracking down on unscrupulous individuals who attempt to claim a deduction higher than the actual sale price of the vehicle. So unless you attach to your tax form a receipt that proves otherwise, no, you can’t deduct $5,000 for that 1979 Ford Pinto.

Kim Schloss of Cars Helping America, a Middleton-based for-profit company that processes donations for about 60 charities, said donations have not slowed notably since the IRS’ new restrictions went into effect. In 2005, the company, which has only three employees, handled about 800 donations, Schloss said.

“People are just happy to have the cars out of their hands,” Schloss said. “It’s a much better deal for donors than trading in their vehicles.”

Technorati : car donation

By Robert Gold THE NEWS-TIMES

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A new law took effect last year that cuts the amount a person can deduct from taxes from donating a car to charity.

As of last year, you can no longer estimate the value of the car. You can only deduct the amount for which the charity sells the car. That’s because the Government Accountability Office found car deduction amounts were 20 times higher than what charities received for them in 2003.

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