Board game donation value: what a used game is worth for taxes
Updated , edition 2026.1
A used board game donated to a thrift store is generally worth $1 to $3 for a tax deduction, about $2 in good condition. Card games, chess sets and dominoes sit in the same band, and jigsaw puzzles run $0.50 to $2. One missing piece takes a board game from resalable to landfill, which makes completeness the only tier question that really matters.
- Typical value, good condition
- $2
- Published range, good condition
- $1.75 to $2.50
What a donated board games 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.
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. Back to the full chart of donation values by item, or add this to a list. Got a receipt for this? Check it.
Count yours
Set a count and a condition on each line for a total range you can print, link to, or save.
19 pieces, suggested total
$35
Supported range $30.25 to $43
- This is fair market value, not tax saved. What it is worth to you
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How this range was derived
The published band is $1 to $3, from The Salvation Army and checked against 6 other published guides. We split that band into three condition tiers: the bottom 35% is Fair, 35% to 70% is Good, and the top 30% is Like new. The suggested figure is the point we prefill inside each tier.
The dataset record
Published: Salvation Army "Board Game" $1.00-$3.00 (the only primary source printing a range). Goodwill Int'l prints "Board games $1" and Catholic Charities prints "Board games $1-$5"; the Goodwill figure is a point value and Catholic Charities is registered corroborating, so neither enters the median (CITATIONS.md 3.1, 3.3). L*=$1.00 H*=$3.00; tiers split at 35%/70% of span per CITATIONS.md 3.4-3.6. The published row is unqualified, so it backs the generic board-game leaf only. CORROBORATION 2026-08-04 (registry pass, no values changed): goodwill-wnct-valuation-guide "Board Games" $3.00 point value; beacon-house-donation-value-guide "Board Game" $1.00-$4.00. All registered corroborating, so per CITATIONS.md 3.3 they do not enter the L*/H* consolidation and the published range above is unchanged. DERIVATION PASS 2026-08-04: catholic-charities "Board games" $1-$5, agrace "Board games" $1-$9, kokomo's compound "Books, Board Games, Puzzles, DVD's" $0.50-$4.00 and hope-village "Board Game" $1.00-$3.00 are now all recorded in sourceIds. All are corroborating, so per 3.3 none enters the L*/H* consolidation and the published range above is unchanged; hope-village's row is identical to The Salvation Army's and is one observation republished in any case.
The same rules apply to every item: how the values are built. Want a different condition? Look up this board games in the value tool.
- Like new
- Complete, box crisp, pieces barely used or still on their sprues.
- Good
- Complete with rules, box sound with light wear at the corners.
- Fair
- Complete and playable, but the box is split, worn or taped.
What drives the value of a donated board games
The tier you pick is the biggest lever on this page. Here is what actually decides it.
Games are sold complete or not at all. Charities that price games generally open the box, and a game missing a pawn, a die, a card, or the rules sheet goes to the bin rather than the shelf. Most published rules include a component list on the first or last page, so counting against that list is the single most useful thing a donor can do, and it takes a few minutes per game.
The box is the second factor. Corner splits, a crushed lid, and water staining all reduce what a shop can ask, because the box is both the packaging and the storage. Inside, punched tokens are normal and expected, but tokens still on their sprue put a game near the top of its band, and a warped board or a shrink-wrapped game that has never been opened is a different proposition entirely.
Beyond that, the category splits by what wears out. Card games live or die on whether the deck is complete and the cards are unbent, since a single missing card ends it. Chess and checkers sets need every piece and a sound board, and a replaced pawn is visible immediately. Puzzles are the hardest case, because a completed count is the only proof of completeness and an opened puzzle nobody has assembled is an unknown. Expansions are separate items when they are separately boxed.
Is your game worth more than $2? The collectible check
A handful of games sell for far more than the thrift band. Look for any of these: still factory-sealed, older than the barcode era (roughly before 1980), an Avalon Hill or SPI bookshelf wargame, a franchise tie-in, an out-of-print hobby title, or components still unpunched on their sprues.
For one of those, the IRS method is comparable sales (Publication 561): look up sold listings, not asking prices, for the same title and edition, screenshot three, and value the game at what it would sell for in its condition. Log it as its own item rather than in the game-closet count.
A large collection given at once is generally a group of similar items, and above $5,000 for the group a qualified appraisal generally applies, with Form 8283 Section B.
Modern hobby games and the thrift band
Fair market value is what the game sells for in the market where used games like it are actually sold. For a mass-market title dropped at a thrift store, that is the band in the table. A recent hobby title in like-new condition may support a higher figure from sold listings of the same edition, and the burden of proof sits with the donor, so the screenshots belong with the record.
The five-minute game check
Count the pieces against the component list in the rules. Print missing rules from the publisher's site. Bag loose pieces inside the box and tape the lid. Write complete, or missing and what, on the box. Take one photo of the components laid out beside the rules.
A game with pieces missing generally falls below good used condition: leave it out of the count, or give it to a program that wants parts, as a gift rather than a deduction. The counter on this page prints as a one-page tally to take with you.
Where to donate board games, and whether it is deductible
Charity thrift stores, nonprofit game libraries, and public libraries and public schools are generally deductible recipients; a gift to a government unit counts when it is for public purposes (Publication 526). Senior centers and hospitals count only if they are qualified organizations, which the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search confirms.
Game stores and Buy Nothing groups are not charities, so a game left there is not a deduction. Many libraries take only complete, current games, and some refuse puzzles under 300 pieces, so ask first.
Worked example: 10 board games, 3 card games and 5 puzzles in good condition plus 1 chess set like new come to about $30.25 to $43, suggested $35. Two incomplete games set aside add nothing. That is the tally the counter starts with.
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.
Open each box, lay the components out beside the rules sheet, and photograph them in one frame; that photo is the evidence that the game was complete when it left. Write complete on your list only for the games you actually counted. Note anything sealed, and for puzzles, say plainly whether the count was verified or whether the box was simply closed.
Like new generally means sealed or played once, box square, tokens unpunched or unmarked, rules crisp. Good means played, complete, box worn at the corners. Fair means complete and playable with a tired box or a replaced component. A game missing pieces or rules is below Fair and generally is not deductible, since it cannot be sold or used as intended.
Items people log as a board games by mistake
Filing an item under the wrong line is the quietest way to end up with a number you cannot support.
Jigsaw puzzles
A separate and lower row, and the completeness problem is worse: nobody can verify an opened puzzle without assembling it. If you have not counted it, the honest tier is the bottom of the band.
Card games
Their own row here. A deck missing a single card is unplayable, which is why card games should be counted rather than shaken and assumed. Collectible card sets are a comparable-sales item instead.
Video games
Console and computer games sit in the video game rows, not with board games, and consoles are valued far above either. Filing a console game here understates it considerably.
Up, sideways, and out
Every value on this page comes out of the toys and games section of the donation value guide, which shows the rest of the category with the same sourcing.
- ValuesToys and games donation valuesThe whole category, item by item, with the published range and the source behind every line.
- ValuesStuffed animal donation value: about $0.75 eachUsed stuffed animals are generally worth $0.50 to $1 each for a 2026 donation. Total a bag by condition, see who accepts used plush, and what receipt to get.
- ValuesBook donation value: what each donated book is worth in 2026Hardcovers $1 to $3, paperbacks $0.75 to $2, children's books $0.50 to $1. Count a box by format and condition, get a cited total, see when Form 8283 applies.
- ValuesHow much are donated video games worth for taxes?Donated video games run about $3 each on Goodwill guides, consoles $20 to $50. Sourced ranges by condition, when a title is worth more, and what to reset first.
- ValuesHow much are donated DVDs and CDs worth?Donated DVDs and CDs are worth $2 to $5 each by condition, VHS tapes and vinyl about $1. Count a stack by format and get a cited total for your taxes.
- 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 board games
Does one missing piece really matter?
Are jigsaw puzzles valued the same as board games?
Is an expansion a separate item?
How much is a used board game worth for a tax deduction?
Can I deduct what I paid for the game?
My game is vintage or sealed. Is $2 still right?
Is donating games to a library or school tax deductible?
Do I need a receipt for donated games?
How do I value 50 games at once?
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 .
- Valuation Guide for Goodwill Donors
Goodwill of Western and Northern Connecticut
Corroborating check. Used to sanity-check a band. Never moves a figure on its own. Fetched and read .
- Donation Value Guide
The Beacon House Association of San Pedro (Beacon House Thrift Shop, San Pedro, CA)
Corroborating check. Used to sanity-check a band. Never moves a figure on its own. 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 .
- Donation Value Guide
Agrace (Agrace Thrift Stores; Wisconsin's largest nonprofit hospice, Madison/Janesville WI)
Corroborating check. Used to sanity-check a band. Never moves a figure on its own. Fetched and read .
- Estimated Valuation Guide & Receipt for Items Donated to the Kokomo Rescue Mission
Kokomo Rescue Mission (Kokomo, Indiana; Federal I.D. No. 351104430)
Corroborating check. Used to sanity-check a band. Never moves a figure on its own. Fetched and read .
- Donation Value Guide
Hope Village for Children (Hope Village Thrift Store, Meridian, Mississippi)
Corroborating check. Used to sanity-check a band. Never moves a figure on its own. Fetched and read .
- Valuation Guide for Goodwill Donors
Goodwill Industries International (compiled list, republished by member affiliates)
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 - What is my donation worth?
Goodwill Greater Milwaukee & Chicago (Goodwill Retail Services, Inc., Tax ID# 39-2040239)
Corroborating check. Used to sanity-check a band. Never moves a figure on its own. Fetched and read .
- Valuation Guide for Charitable Contributions
Small Business Taxes & Management (A/N Group, Inc.), ISSN 1089-1536
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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