Need your car donation to count for your 2026 taxes? With Indy Car Connect and Heritage for the Blind, the key date is your pickup date. If your vehicle is picked up on or before December 31, the IRS treats that as a donation this tax year—even if the sale and tax paperwork happen later. Start with a quick 2-minute online form or a fast phone call, schedule your free tow, sign your title at pickup, and you’re done. Your written acknowledgment and IRS Form 1098-C, if needed, are mailed within 30 days of sale.
We’re set up for fast year-end pickups across the Indy Metro—downtown, Broad Ripple, Fountain Square, Irvington, Speedway, Lawrence, Warren Township, and suburbs like Carmel, Fishers, Greenwood, Avon, Brownsburg, and Noblesville. Your car doesn’t have to run, pass inspection, or have current registration. Indy Car Connect coordinates everything with Heritage for the Blind, a 501(c)(3) supporting people who are blind or visually impaired. As December 31 approaches, pickup slots fill quickly, so if you’ve decided to donate, take two minutes right now to lock in your preferred pickup time and your 2026 tax deduction.
Your year-end donation timeline
Start the 2-minute form or call Indy Car Connect
2 minutesEnter your contact info, basic vehicle details, and your Indianapolis-area pickup address, or call to give this information by phone. Tell us you need pickup by December 31 for this year’s taxes. This step timestamps your intent, starts your file, and lets our coordinators prioritize your year-end schedule.
Get a coordinator callback to lock in pickup time
Within 1–2 business hoursOn weekdays, a Heritage for the Blind donation coordinator calls you back within 1–2 hours (weekend or evening requests return the next business day). You’ll confirm your Indy Metro location, choose the earliest available pickup slot, and get clear instructions on what to have ready so your title transfer is completed in one visit.
Free licensed tow truck arrives at your Indy address
Same-day or next business day in most metro areasA professional, licensed tow partner comes to your home, office, or storage lot in the Indianapolis area—downtown, suburbs, or surrounding towns. Towing is free, even if the car doesn’t run or is parked tightly. In most of the Indy Metro, we can accommodate same-day or next-business-day pickups, especially when you contact us before the late-December rush.
Sign the title and complete the donation
About 10 minutes at pickupAt the truck, you sign your Indiana title over following the coordinator’s instructions. Once you sign and release the vehicle, the donation is complete. The physical pickup date is what the IRS uses as your donation date, so a December 31 pickup locks in a deduction for this tax year, even though the vehicle will be sold later.
Vehicle is sold and tax paperwork is mailed
Within 30 days of saleYour vehicle is transported, processed, and sold to benefit Heritage for the Blind. After sale, you’ll receive a written acknowledgment and, when applicable, IRS Form 1098-C by mail within 30 days of the sale date. You use that documentation when you file your return and itemize the charitable deduction on Schedule A.
Year-end tax deduction facts
Pickup date controls this year’s deduction
For vehicle donations, the IRS focuses on when you actually transfer control of the car. When the tow truck picks up your vehicle and you sign the title on or before December 31, that pickup date is treated as your donation date for this tax year.
Form 1098-C documents larger vehicle gifts
If your donated vehicle is sold for more than the IRS threshold, Heritage for the Blind issues IRS Form 1098-C. This form shows the gross sale price and is your official backup for larger car-donation deductions when filing your return.
Deduction generally equals the sale price
In most cases, your charitable deduction for a car is limited to the amount the charity receives when it sells your vehicle. The sale amount appears on your written acknowledgment or Form 1098-C and is what you report if you itemize your deductions.
30-day receipt rule after vehicle sale
The IRS requires that the charity send a written acknowledgment within 30 days of selling your donated vehicle. After your car is picked up around Indianapolis and sold, Heritage for the Blind mails your acknowledgment or Form 1098-C within that 30-day window.
Report your deduction on Schedule A
To claim a car donation, you must itemize deductions on IRS Schedule A instead of taking the standard deduction. You’ll use the sale amount from your acknowledgment or Form 1098-C when completing Schedule A for your federal income tax return.