Last Minute Tax Tips

There's still time to make charitable donations that could help you save when it's time to file your 2020 taxes. NBC's Dan Scheneman reports.

(NBC News) — Anyone making a list and checking it twice may want to add a charity or two.

Experts say now is a good time to make donations that can lower your taxes.

Those tax advantages can be substantial according to Caleb Silver of Investopedia.

Along with cash, Silver says it’s often a good idea to donate stocks and other investment products.

“If you’ve gotten capital gains on that stock and you’ve held it for a long time, by donating it you reduce the capital gains taxes,” he explains.

Instead of trading in an old car, it could be donated as well.

“You can get a tax write off for donating your car if your car is worth more than $500, if the charity that you’re donating to sells it or ends up using it,” Silver says.

He also stresses it’s important to keep good records for tax purposes, and that’s easier now than ever.

“Any of the online tax businesses and even your online broker has a way of tracking your charitable donation. So you can see how much you’ve given and how much it’s going to offset the income taxes, you’re going to have to pay for the end of the year,” Silver says.

Read more here.