If you are not too broke from the holidays, and you want to create some last minute tax breaks, charity donations are the best way to do it. Donations made through midnight on the 31st count toward your 2016 taxes. The best part is that you do not have to donate money if you do not have any left. Here are some possible donations for you and to whom to send the donated goods.

Car Donations

Car donations, or really any sort of donated vehicle (including watercraft and recreational vehicles), can score really big donation credits for your taxes. Rehabilitation ranches for at-risk youth advertise all year long for your vehicle donations, but there is always a big push to get more vehicles at the end of the year/ before tax season. You will get a slightly bigger donation estimate if the vehicle runs, but even non-operational vehicles are accepted. Other locations that accept vehicle donations are trade schools and technical colleges, prison workshops, and high school tech ed classes. In exchange for your donation, you will receive a slip with the estimated value of your donation, which you can use when you prepare your taxes.

Coat Drives and Clothing Donations

The biggest problem with seasonal wear (like coats and shorts) is that you end up replacing them every year and then you have a stack of these items laying around. Thankfully, somebody is always running a coat or clothing drive, and you can give your extra coats and clothing to these drives in exchange for a donation slip. Thrift stores that take donations will also give you a value slip for your donated items; plus, they take more than just coats and outgrown clothes.

Red Kettles and Toy Drives

The famous bell-ringers and red kettles look for your spare change, which you can either keep track of or just stuff the kettle with a big bill. Write the amounts down, because no matter how small, these donations count on your taxes. The marines and their annual toy drives also count.

Keep the receipts from any toys you buy and donate to their cause because the total amount rounded to the nearest dollar can be entered on your taxes too. This is an especially good charity to donate to because your own children may get duplicate gifts of things they already have, or you may get several items for free because you bought everything else you needed. The value of the free items you donate (i.e., what they would have cost if they had not been free) can be tallied and added to your charitable donations.

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