What is a donated bed worth without the mattress?
On this page a bed means the frame, the headboard, and the rails that hold them together. What you sleep on is a separate item with a separate page.
- Typical value, good condition
- $115
- Published range, good condition
- $95 to $140
What a donated bed is generally worth
Fair market value is a range, so these are ranges. The suggested figure sits inside the band the source guide published for that condition.
| Item | Like new | Good | Fair | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full, Queen or King Bed | $140 to $175 | $95 to $140 | $50 to $95 | Source 1 for Full, Queen or King Bed |
| Twin or Single Bed | $85 to $105 | $60 to $85 | $36 to $60 | Source 1 for Twin or Single Bed |
| Hi-Riser or Daybed | $65 to $80 | $50 to $65 | $36 to $50 | Source 1 for Hi-Riser or Daybed |
| Folding Bed | $50 to $60 | $35 to $50 | $21 to $35 | Source 1 for Folding Bed |
| Bunk Bed | No guide prices this one. Enter your own figure and keep the evidence for it. | Source 4 for Bunk Bed | ||
| Bedroom Set (complete) | $805 to $1,035 | $530 to $805 | $260 to $530 | Source 1 for Bedroom Set (complete) |
Values are per item, in 2026 dollars, from the DeductiBee valuation dataset, edition 2026.1. A range is what the source guide published; the suggested figure is the point inside it we prefill, not a price.
How this range was derived
Published: Salvation Army "Bed (full, queen, king)" $52-$176; Habitat ReStore "Bed (queen kit)" $50-$150; Catholic Charities "Beds" $25-$170. L*=$52 H*=$176 by lower median; tiers split at 35%/70% of span per CITATIONS.md 3.4. [singleSource] EDITION 2026-08-05: the CURRENT edition of the Twin Cities Habitat ReStore "Donation Value Guide", revised 2023-09-19, re-prints this row unchanged at "Bed (Queen Kit)" $50-$150, so no shipped figure moved. See CITATIONS.md 7.1.
- Like new
- Unworn or barely used, with tags or as good as. The top of the published range.
- Good
- Used, complete, clean, and working, with no notable damage. The middle of the range.
- Fair
- Visible wear but still usable and saleable. The bottom of the range, and generally the lowest condition that can be claimed at all.
What drives the value of a donated bed
The tier you pick is the biggest lever on this page. Here is what actually decides it.
Completeness decides almost everything about a donated bed. A headboard, a footboard, two side rails, the slats or support platform, and the bolts that join them are one item. Any of those missing and the rest is a decorative panel: a headboard alone will not stand up as a bed, and a resale floor cannot sell one as a bed either. Bag the hardware and tape it to the headboard before the truck arrives, because a bed frame that arrives without its bolts becomes somebody else's problem to solve with a trip to a hardware store.
Size is the published lever, and the full, queen, and king row sits above the twin row. Speciality frames each have their own line: hi-risers and daybeds, folding beds, and, at the top of the page by a wide margin, a complete bedroom set, which is a bed together with the case pieces that match it and is one of the largest single figures in this dataset.
Bunk beds carry no published range here at all. They are also the frame most likely to have been recalled or modified over the years, and the one charities scrutinise hardest, so the honest treatment is a custom figure supported by comparable sales rather than a borrowed band. On any frame, check the rail hooks or brackets for bent metal and the slats for cracks, since both are load-bearing and both fail quietly.
What evidence supports the condition you claimed
A number you can trace and defend is worth more in an audit than a generous one you cannot.
Photograph the bed assembled if you can, before it comes apart, because an assembled frame answers the completeness question in one frame. If it is already dismantled, lay the pieces out together, hardware included, and photograph the group. Add a close shot of a rail hook or bracket and one of the headboard face. A collection receipt that names the piece and its size is worth asking for when a charity picks it up.
Items people log as a bed by mistake
Filing an item under the wrong line is the quietest way to end up with a number you cannot support.
The mattress
Mattresses are priced separately from frames, they have their own rows and their own acceptance problems, and a bed given complete with bedding is two or three items rather than one.
A headboard on its own
Without rails and a footboard, a headboard is not the item this row prices. It is generally worth much less, and it is honest to say so in the item note rather than logging it as a bed.
A complete bedroom set
The set row covers a bed donated together with the matching case goods and is far above every other line here. It is also large enough on its own to change what paperwork a return needs.
Up, sideways, and out
Every value on this page comes out of the furniture section of the donation value guide, which shows the rest of the category with the same sourcing.
Also in Bed
- Other Bed$100, good
Full ranges, all three tiers, and the sources for each are in the furniture valuation guide.
- ValuesFurniture donation valuesThe whole category, item by item, with the published range and the source behind every line.
- ValuesHow much is a donated sofa worth?Fair market value for a donated sofa, why a sleeper sofa is the highest row on the page, and what a frame, cushions, and upholstery say about the tier.
- ValuesWhat is a donated mattress worth, if a charity takes it?Fair market value for a donated mattress by size, why the queen and king rows carry no published range, and what to ask a charity before loading it.
- ValuesHow much is a donated dresser worth?Fair market value for a donated dresser, chest of drawers, or wardrobe, and why solid wood, drawer boxes, and an intact mirror move the published row.
- ValuesWhat is a donated dining table worth?Fair market value for a donated dining table, why a complete dining room set is a far larger number, and what leaves, chairs, and hardware do to the row.
- LookupLook up any other itemSearch the whole catalog, pick a condition, and read the range with its citation.
- CalculatorWhat the deduction is worth to youTurn a documented total into a range of tax effect, with the marginal-rate assumption stated on screen.
Questions about donating a bed
Does the value on this page include the mattress?
Why is there no value for a bunk bed?
What if the bolts are missing?
Where these values come from
Every range on this page traces to one of these. Values are derived from the published ranges, never copied from another product’s valuation database, and never invented where no source covers an item.
- Donation Value Guide (The Salvation Army Thrift Stores | Donation Valuation Guide)
The Salvation Army (Thrift Stores / Adult Rehabilitation Centers)
Primary value source. A published range from this guide can set the low or high end of an item's band. Fetched and read .
- Donation Value Guide (2023 edition)
Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity ReStore
Primary value source. A published range from this guide can set the low or high end of an item's band. Fetched and read .
- Thrift Store Valuation Guide
Catholic Charities Maine (Catholic Charities Thrift Store)
Corroborating check. Used to sanity-check a band. Never moves a figure on its own. Fetched and read .
- Publication 561 (12/2025), Determining the Value of Donated Property
Internal Revenue Service (U.S. Department of the Treasury)
Methodology. Sets the standard the values have to meet. Never a source of dollar figures. Fetched and read .
- Publication 526 (2025), Charitable Contributions
Internal Revenue Service (U.S. Department of the Treasury)
Methodology. Sets the standard the values have to meet. Never a source of dollar figures. Fetched and read .
The rules behind the thresholds
- Publication 561, Determining the Value of Donated PropertyIRS, IRS publication
- Publication 526, Charitable ContributionsIRS, IRS publication
- Instructions for Form 8283IRS, IRS form
A value is evidence, not a ruling. Deductibility depends on your own facts, including whether the organization is qualified and what records you kept. This is record-keeping software, not tax advice.
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Condition on the record
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