Frequently Asked Questions
Donating your vehicle to charity is a big decision. That’s why we offer a donation experience that is simple, stress-free and speedy. If you have any questions not answered below, please contact us.
How To Donate
It’s a very simple process that takes no more than 5 minutes of your time. Call our toll-free number (1-833-465-7227) or fill out this donation form. Homeless Cars will arrange the pickup of your vehicle for free between 24 and 72 hours after the donation. A receipt of pickup will be issued next business day and your charitable tax receipt will be issued by Homeless Cars in the month following your donation.
A wash is not required, but make sure to remove any trash from its interior and obtain your personal items before your scheduled pickup.
Donating isn’t just quick and easy, it allows you to make a significant contribution to the less fortunate. In just one year, donors like you made it possible to provide the equivalent of 180,000 meals or 60,000 nights in a shelter for at-risk Canadians. Selling your car means complicated paperwork, putting ads in the newspaper or online, meeting potential buyers, negotiating and hoping the buyer will come through. This is much easier and a feel-good, charitable deed.
What We Accept
Yes. We take cars that don’t run, won’t pass a safety, have high mileage, have body damage, or have been sitting for years. In most cases the answer is yes… as long as it’s still got its tires and wheels.
It’s possible, but your tax receipt will be lower without these core elements.
Yes, Homeless Cars accepts fleet vehicles and recycles them. In return, a charitable tax receipt will be issued for the value of the vehicles.
We accept some motorcycles, RVs and boats. If you have one to donate, please inquire and we can evaluate whether it can be donated on a case by case basis. Homeless Cars does not currently have the infrastructure to accept trailers.
Once your vehicle is placed onto our tow truck, your responsibility ends there. You can cancel your insurance at that time.
We will not accept a car with any outstanding liens and/or encumbrances on it, or without tires. We do not accept trailers.
Paperwork
You will need the registered owner to sign the signature of the seller line on the back of the ownership (Ontario) or registration (Winnipeg). This ownership/registration along with the keys must be provided to the tow driver at the time of pickup. In Alberta, we will provide a new bill of sale for the registered owner to fill out and return prior to or at the time of pickup.
Give us a call at 1-833-465-7227. Missing ownership can sometimes be sorted out, and we’ll tell you exactly what you need before we book the towing.
We need proof of ownership. A bill of sale would work.
Yes, you may. Please provide a copy of the will or a lawyer’s letter stating such. The tax receipt will be issued in the name of the estate.
Absolutely not. We accept the vehicle as it is.
Vehicle Pick Up & Processing
We will arrange pick-up from a local towing company that Homeless Cars partners with in your area. All tow trucks are licensed, bonded, and insured.
No, you do not need to be there. Homeless Cars offers contactless pickup in which the keys and ownership can be placed in the glovebox of the vehicle for a convenient pickup.
No. Towing is free and we arrange it. There is no cost to you at any point.
Clean out the car of all your personal belongings, take your plates off the car (they are yours to reuse on another car), and sign the applicable documents for your province. Our pickups can be contactless if that’s a preference, just leave the keys and the signed documents in the glovebox of the car.
Yes. Take your plates off before we arrive. They belong to you, not the car. We handle the rest!
Yes we can, within our geographical zone. The car must not be in an underground parking lot with a low overhead. If it is currently underground, you must be able to drive it out onto the road.
Usually between 24 and 72 hours from the time you contact us, Mondays through Fridays (and sometimes on the weekend).
Homeless Cars is able to provide you with a call when our tow driver is approximately 30 minutes away on the day of pickup. Note that Homeless Cars will only call you if you opt in to receive this call at the time of donation.
After your donated vehicle is towed away, the vehicle is then either sold, sourced for parts or processed for scrap and disposed of in an eco-friendly manner.
Please sign and date the back of the ownership and give it to the tow driver. Once it is in Homeless Cars’ possession, we will take it to the Ministry of Transportation and do the appropriate paperwork allowing for transfer of ownership.
No. Most vehicles donated to the charity are not in driving condition and even when they are, we sell our vehicles to our recycling partners. The funding from donated vehicles goes to support our charity partners. If you’re looking for support, check out our charity partners list to see how they can help.
Tax Receipts + Charities
No. Homeless Cars is a registered Canadian charitable foundation, so we can’t pay cash. We tow your car away for free and email you a tax receipt for the vehicle’s value you can claim on your income tax return.
Your receipt is based on what your car is worth. There is a minimum guarantee in each province we serve, but we’re always happy to appraise vehicles individually based on their year, make, model, mileage, and condition. If you want an idea before you commit, fill in the form with the mileage and condition and we’ll give you a figure when we call you back.
By email, by the end of the month after we pick up your car. So a car picked up in March means a receipt by the end of April. If you prefer having it sent by mail, we can do that too.
Homeless Cars is a registered charitable foundation and will issue your tax receipt based on the fair value of the vehicle at time of donation.
The minimum receipt amount is determined by the fluctuating scrap metal prices, however, the current minimum receipt amount is $600 in Ontario and Alberta and $300 in Manitoba. There is no maximum tax receipt amount. We are always happy to appraise your higher-value vehicle prior to donation.
Please email us at info@homelesscars.ca with your name and the year, make and model of the vehicle and we will email a reissued receipt right away. Alternatively call our toll-free number 1-833-465-7227.
Homeless Cars is a registered charitable foundation that supports several charities in the homeless and food insecurity space. View the list of charities we support. Net proceeds from car donations are distributed according to where the donation was made. All donation funds stay in or around the community in which the car was donated with all funds staying in Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta.
Homeless Cars is a registered Canadian Charitable Foundation. All our supported charities and their recipients are also Canadian. We guarantee that the funds from your cars will stay in and help the communities in which you donated in.
Eleven local charity partners across our service areas, and the proceeds stay in the community your car came from. Hamilton: Good Shepherd, Hamilton Out of the Cold, Interval House and 541 Eatery & Exchange. Toronto and the GTA: Seeds of Hope, Ve’ahavta and North York Harvest Food Bank. Calgary: Alpha House Society. Edmonton: Boyle Street Community Services and Edmonton’s Food Bank. Winnipeg: Siloam Mission.
No we’re different and completely local! Our registered charitable foundation number is 77012 3131 RR0001, and we fund homelessness and food insecurity relief in the donor’s own community. Other organisations like Kidney Car, Donate-A-Car, or Kars4Kids either distribute the funds across the country to other causes, or support efforts in the United States.
Yes, Homeless Cars gives you a 100% guarantee that all the funds stay in Canada.
Yes, your receipt will be an official receipt for Canadian income tax purposes. You will be able to use the receipt in claiming available tax deductions/credits in accordance with the charitable donation tax rules applicable to your circumstances.
No. We only pick up donated vehicles. We don’t sell or give away cars or parts to the public.