Donate a car to support any of the California non-profits
listed below. We accept car donations on behalf of charitable and non-profit
organizations throughout California — from San Diego to Crescent City. We
accept cars, trucks, trailers, boats, RV's, motorcycles, and many other
motorized vehicles. In most cases, we can accept your vehicle even if it hasn't
run in years! And pickup of your vehicle is always free!
Learn More About How to Donate a Car
If you've never donated a car or other vehicle before,
please see our How to Donate a Car page for information about what steps are
required to donate. For answers to common car donation questions, please read
our Car Donation FAQ page.
Donate your car, truck, RV, boat, or other vehicle to any
organization listed below. If your favorite non-profit is not listed, read
about how to donate a car to any non-profit.
From Crescent City to Calexico Donateacar.com provides you
with fast, free and easy pick-up of your car donation. You can donate cars, trucks, vans, RVs, boats
and more. When you donate you get free
pick-up of your car donation as well as no paperwork hassle to deal with and a
great tax deduction. Donate now and make a difference in California.
This was such an easy process! The communication was timely,
complete and made the unknown process a snap! From the start to the friendly
driver waving good bye with my old vehicle in tow, you have made the process
simple and quick!!!! I appreciate the tax deduction while doing the right thing
for the kids. Good job on your Kars for Kids song. When the time came, I knew
exactly who to call.
Now more than ever, cash-strapped non-profits need financial
support, and donating your car can be a great way to help. It's also very
generous.
It's also important to remember that you can only take a
charitable deduction if you itemize your deductions. So, before you give away
your car, just make sure you've done the math and it makes sense for both you
and the non-profit.
Pick a Charity
It's very easy to give money or an in-kind donation to a
non-profit. The hard part is making sure the non-profit deserves your gift and
that you are confident the organization is spending its resources wisely.
The first step is to identify a charity that engages in work
that is meaningful to you. For some, that will be helping to feed poor
children; for others it will be the local animal shelter, and for others still
it will be their religious institution.
There are thousands of non-profits to choose from. The most
important thing to verify is that the charity you choose can receive
tax-deductible gifts. Most of the time that means it must be registered with
the IRS as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Ensure You Can Donate Your Car
Once you've identified a couple non-profits in the area
you'd like to support, find out if they accept used cars as gifts. Not all
non-profits are equipped to handle that type of donation.
If they do accept cars as gifts, you can then narrow down
the list. You can do this by checking each organization's Charity Navigator
rating. You can also look up their tax filings on Guidestar, where you can see
their financial profile and how much their highest paid employees are
compensated.
Additionally, another great way to research a charity is by
visiting the non-profit to form your own opinion of the work they do.
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Tax Deductions for Donated Cars
The deduction you can take on your tax return is based on
the fair market value of the car. You can start to determine that by visiting
Kelley Blue Book or the NADA Guides, which both have excellent used car rating
tools.
However, keep in mind that these book values are
generalizations.
For example, if you determine that your car is worth $5,000,
but you know it doesn't start because it needs a new battery, the fair market
value is $5,000 minus the price of replacing the battery.
You can learn more about taxes and your donated car by
visiting our Tax Deductions & Car Donations page.
DMV Requirements for Donations
From the perspective of the DMV, donating your car is
similar to selling your car. All the paperwork for a title transfer plus
canceling your registration still applies. The exact steps you'll need to take
will vary from state to state. Contact your local DMV office for specific
requirements and details.
