How much are donated books worth?
Format decides the row, not subject, and the work in valuing books is the counting rather than the pricing.
- Typical value, good condition
- $2
- Published range, good condition
- $1.75 to $2.50
What a donated books 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover Book | $2.50 to $3 | $1.75 to $2.50 | $1 to $1.75 | Source 1 for Hardcover Book |
| Paperback Book | $1.75 to $2 | $1.25 to $1.75 | $0.75 to $1.25 | Source 2 for Paperback Book |
| Children's Book | $0.75 to $1 | $0.75 | $0.50 to $0.75 | Source 4 for Children's Book |
| Textbook | $1.50 to $2 | $1 to $1.50 | $0.50 to $1 | Source 9 for Textbook |
| Cookbook | $1.50 to $2 | $1 to $1.50 | $0.50 to $1 | Source 9 for Cookbook |
| Comic Book / Graphic Novel | $1.50 to $2 | $1 to $1.50 | $0.50 to $1 | Source 9 for Comic Book / Graphic Novel |
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-donation-value-guide "Book (hardback)" $1.00-$3.00; goodwill-gii-donor-valuation-guide "Hardcover" $1-$3. Consolidated by lower median to L*=$1, H*=$3; tiers split at 0/35/70/100% of the span per CITATIONS.md 3.4-3.6. Two primaries agree exactly. Corroborating sources print higher (catholic-charities-thrift-valuation-guide "Hardcover" $1-$15, agrace-thrift-donation-value-guide "Hardcover books" $2-$7); per CITATIONS.md 4 the conservative primary consensus ships unchanged. CORROBORATION 2026-08-04 (registry pass, no values changed): goodwill-ohio-valley-fair-market-value-sheet "Hard Back" $2.00 point value; goodwill-greater-mc-donation-value-guide "Hard Cover Books" $1.99 point value; goodwill-northern-illinois-valuation-guide "Hardcover book" $1.00-$3.00; smbiz-valuation-guide-charitable-contributions "Book (hardcover)" $1.00-$3.00. All registered corroborating, so per CITATIONS.md 3.3 they do not enter the L*/H* consolidation and the published range above is unchanged.
- 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 books
The tier you pick is the biggest lever on this page. Here is what actually decides it.
The published guides price books by physical format, so a hardcover novel and a hardcover history sit on the same line while the paperback edition of the same title sits on another. Sorting the boxes into hardcover, paperback, children's, textbook, cookbook, and comic before you count is most of the job, and doing it at the curb instead of at the drop-off is the difference between a list and a guess.
Condition for a book is spine, block, and jacket. A cracked or rolled spine, pages that have cupped from damp, and a musty smell that will not air out all take a book out of resale, and water damage is the one fault that spreads to the books stacked with it. A dust jacket on a hardcover is part of the book, not an extra, and a hardcover missing its jacket is worth less. Ex-library stamps, discard markings, and pocket residue also reduce what a shop can ask.
Two kinds of book do not belong on these rows. A textbook loses most of its value the moment a new edition ships, and highlighting or margin notes take it to near zero, so the edition and printing are worth recording. At the other end, signed copies, first editions, and older illustrated books can be worth well above any thrift band, and those need recent comparable sales as evidence. A large donation of similar books is also the classic case where the group of similar items rule starts to matter.
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 each box with the spines facing up so titles and count are legible, and record the count by format on your own list before it goes. Ask the receipt to state the number of boxes and the approximate count rather than the word books. For anything you valued above the guide row, keep the comparable listing you relied on and note the title, edition, and condition you matched it to.
Like new for a book generally means unread or nearly so, tight spine, jacket present, no markings. Good means read and shelved, spine intact, clean pages. Fair means readable with a creased spine, a bumped corner, or a price sticker scar. Water damage, mold, loose pages, or a broken binding put a book below Fair, where it is generally not deductible and where most charities will pulp it.
Items people log as a books by mistake
Filing an item under the wrong line is the quietest way to end up with a number you cannot support.
Textbooks
A separate row, and edition turnover matters more than condition. A superseded edition with highlighting is generally not worth listing, while a current edition in clean shape can be worth more than the row suggests.
Children's books
Their own row and the lowest band in this group, because supply is enormous. Board books with chewed corners or torn flaps are below the condition standard rather than at the bottom of the band.
Collectible and first editions
Not a guide-range item. Value it from recent comparable sales, and note that a large group of similar books valued together can cross the thresholds where an appraisal is generally required.
Up, sideways, and out
Every value on this page comes out of the books and media section of the donation value guide, which shows the rest of the category with the same sourcing.
Also in Books
- Audio Book (CD or Cassette)$1, good
- Other Book$1.25, good
Full ranges, all three tiers, and the sources for each are in the books and media valuation guide.
- ValuesBooks and media donation valuesThe whole category, item by item, with the published range and the source behind every line.
- ValuesWhat are donated DVDs and CDs worth?Donation values for DVDs, CDs, vinyl records, and VHS tapes by condition, why the case matters as much as the disc, and where the guides stop publishing.
- ValuesHow much is a donated pair of jeans worth?What a donated pair of jeans is generally worth, why denim is priced above other pants, and how to tell like new from good on a pair you actually wore.
- ValuesWhat is a donated winter coat worth for taxes?Fair market value for a donated winter coat, why a coat and a jacket are priced on different lines, and what evidence supports the condition you claim.
- ValuesHow much can you deduct for a donated T-shirt?What a donated T-shirt is generally worth, how it differs from a blouse or a sweatshirt in the published guides, and when a tee is too worn to claim.
- 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 books
Do I really have to count every book?
Are textbooks with highlighting deductible?
What if one of the books might be rare?
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 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 .
- 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 .
- Fair Market Value Sheet (Revised 3/1/2023)
Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries (Cincinnati, OH)
Corroborating check. Used to sanity-check a band. Never moves a figure on its own. 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
Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois
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 .
- Donation Value Guide - What is my Donation Worth?
Goodwill Northern New England
Primary value source. A published range from this guide can set the low or high end of an item's band. 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 .
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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