New Life for Old PCs

Charitable Checklist

Interested in donating your PC to an organization or school? Here's how to prepare your system to give it away and get a tax write-off in the process.

Test Your Equipment

Make sure everything--mouse, modem, keyboard, and peripherals--work. Confirm that the monitor doesn't flicker and that the image is clear. If something doesn't work, check with the charity before sending your equipment.

Label Components and Cables

Ship desktop systems and laptops with cables, and label all cables and components with the system's make and model to keep them together. If you're donating more than one computer, send an inventory list with the shipment.

Remove Data

Overwrite, rather than delete, important files with a utility such as Norton Utilities' WipeInfo. Deleted files can be retrieved. Security pros recommend overwriting sensitive company data at least seven times.

Delete the Operating System and Applications

Many charities and organizations prefer to install their own version of Windows on a donated system to avoid bizarre settings or drivers that your version may have picked up. Some organizations want your boot-disk floppy.

As for applications, a typical software license forbids you to give the program to someone else, so you'll need to delete these--especially if you intend to continue using the applications on your new machine. See "Prep an Old PC for a New Home" for more tips about cleaning your system.

Get a Receipt

To get a tax deduction for your donation, you must give the PC to a recipient that qualifies as a Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization or school and not to an individual or to a nonprofit political advocacy group.

Ask the organization for a receipt that includes its name, its tax ID number, and a list of the donated components. To determine the write-off value, see the Orion Computer Blue Book, which lists the resale value of equipment, or check out the final auction price of a comparable system sold recently on EBay.

Keep all documentation regarding the PC's worth with your tax papers. If the system's value exceeds $5000, you'll need to get an appraisal from a qualified appraiser (Orion provides appraisals through its site). Corporations donating computers to schools can receive additional deductions under the New Millennium Classrooms Act for machines that are less than three years old.