11/19/2004

Contact: Phillip Wilke, Kansas Public Radio, (785) 864-5016; or Peg Sampson, Audio-Reader Network (785) 864-2686

Donate cars to public radio now; tax law change in 2005 to reduce deduction

LAWRENCE -- Anyone planning to donate a vehicle or watercraft to Kansas Public Radio or the Audio-Reader Network has only a few weeks to do so before law changes could potentially reduce the tax deduction.

As of Jan. 1, 2005, a donor can take a tax deduction only for what a car sells for at auction after it is given to a charity. Under the old law, a donor could deduct the fair market value, an amount the donor determined. The change was part of the American Jobs Creation Act, the massive corporate tax bill signed by President Bush on Oct. 12.

“ I don't think this tax change will affect the quantity or quality of vehicles donated to KPR,” said Phil Wilke, media manager for KPR. “But if you've been thinking about donating a car, truck, motorcycle or boat to KPR, you might as well do it now.”

After Jan.1, donors will receive a donation confirmation letter that will list the auction price of their vehicles. To this point, most vehicle donors have used the Kelley Blue Book or similar vehicle pricing guides to determine the fair market value of the car and its tax-deduction value.

Audio-Reader Network is a radio reading service for blind and visually impaired persons. Based at the University of Kansas, Audio-Reader blankets the state with a daily closed circuit broadcast of newspapers, magazines, books and other reading materials.

KPR, licensed to the University of Kansas, broadcasts on KANU-FM 91.5 in Lawrence; KANH-FM 89.7 in Emporia: KANV-FM 91.3 in Olsburg-Junction City; and K210CR-FM 89.9 in Atchison. KPR also can be heard on the Web at http://www.kpr.ku.edu.