Cell phone donation value: what a used phone is worth for taxes in 2026
Updated , edition 2026.1
A donated cell phone in good working condition is generally worth $50 to $80 (we prefill $65). Like new runs $80 to $100, fair $25 to $50. A phone still locked to someone's account is worth close to nothing. At a 22% bracket, a $65 phone generally saves about $14 in tax, and only if you itemize.
- Typical value, good condition
- $65
- Published range, good condition
- $50 to $80
What a donated cell phone 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cell phone | $80 to $100 | $50 to $80 | $25 to $50 | Source 1 for Cell phoneSource 2 for Cell phone |
| Tablet | $115 to $150 | $70 to $115 | $25 to $70 | Source 1 for TabletSource 2 for Tablet |
| E-reader | $38 to $50 | $24 to $38 | $10 to $24 | Source 1 for E-reader |
| Cordless / landline telephone | $31 to $40 | $21 to $31 | $10 to $21 | Source 3 for Cordless / landline telephoneSource 4 for Cordless / landline telephone |
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.
1 piece, suggested total
$65
Supported range $50 to $80
- This is fair market value, not tax saved. What it is worth to you
Photograph them before they leave the house. DeductiBee keeps the count, the condition, the photo and the value together on your iPhone until April. A counted batch is one entry; free for 20 new entries a year.
How this range was derived
The published band is $25 to $100, from The Salvation Army and checked against 1 other published guide. 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 range: Salvation Army 'Cell Phone' $25-100. Single primary. The published label is generic, so this leaf covers smartphones and feature phones alike; it is not split, because splitting would require assigning the upper part of the range to smartphones on our own authority. CORROBORATION 2026-08-04 (registry pass, no values changed): beacon-house-donation-value-guide "Cell Phone" $10.00-$60.00. All registered corroborating, so per CITATIONS.md 3.3 they do not enter the L*/H* consolidation and the published range above is unchanged.
The same rules apply to every item: how the values are built. Want a different condition? Look up this cell phone in the value tool.
- Like new
- Recent model, no marks, healthy battery, box and cable included, erased and unlocked.
- Good
- Works fully, light wear on the frame, intact glass, erased and unlocked.
- Fair
- Works, but with scuffed glass, a tired battery or no accessories; erased and unlocked.
What drives the value of a donated cell phone
The tier you pick is the biggest lever on this page. Here is what actually decides it.
A phone still signed into its owner's account, still locked to a carrier contract, or reported lost is effectively unsellable, and a device nobody can activate has little or no fair market value however good it looks. Signing out, disabling the activation lock, removing the SIM, and erasing the device is therefore the step that creates the value rather than merely protecting your data. It is also the step charities most often find undone at intake.
After that it is the physical trio: the screen, the back glass, and the battery. Hairline cracks and shatter are visible; battery health is not, and a phone that no longer lasts a morning is a Fair device at best. Storage capacity separates otherwise identical handsets, and so does whether the charger, cable, and original box came along, since a device donated bare resells lower.
Model age does the rest, and it moves faster here than anywhere else in a donation load. A handset that no longer receives security updates loses access to apps and banking over time, which caps what anyone will pay for it. The published guides publish one band for a used phone rather than tracking model turnover, so a recent handset generally needs recent comparable sales of the same model as its support rather than the row alone.
What each problem does to a donated phone's value
Most donated phones are not worth the top of the band, and a few faults decide where yours lands. Activation lock comes first: a phone still tied to someone's account is close to $0 whatever its condition, so erase it and sign out before anything else.
| Problem | Effect on the tier | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Still signed in or activation-locked | Generally not deductible | Sign out, turn off Find My or FRP, erase |
| Won't power on or charge | Generally not deductible | Recycle it instead |
| Cracked screen | Below Fair, generally not deductible | Recycle, or repair before donating |
| Cracked back glass | Fair at best | Note it on the receipt |
| Battery no longer lasts a day | Fair at best | Note battery health in the item record |
| Charging port loose or water damage | Generally not deductible | Recycle it instead |
| No charger or box | Drops a tier, still deductible | Send any cable you have |
Wipe it first, then photograph it
On an iPhone: back up, sign out of iCloud (which turns off Find My and activation lock), remove the SIM or delete the eSIM, then erase all content and settings. On Android: back up, remove your Google account (which turns off factory reset protection), remove the SIM, then factory reset.
Once it restarts at the welcome screen, photograph it front and back with any accessories. That photo, taken with your new phone, is the evidence for the tier you claim. The electronics guide has the wipe checklist for laptops and tablets too.
Why some sites say a used phone is worth $200
The charity guides behind this page print $25 to $100 for a cell phone (Salvation Army) and $10 to $60 (Beacon House). Some app-maker sites print $200 for a like-new smartphone; no charity guide in our source registry does, so we do not either.
A recent flagship can still be worth more than the band. For that phone, fair market value comes from comparable sales (Publication 561): find three sold listings of the same model and storage in similar condition, use the middle one, and keep the screenshots. Expect most old phones to be worth much less: a charity phone bank reported that 75% to 80% of donated phones had little or no resale value (TechSoup, 2014).
What donating one phone does to your taxes
The deduction is the phone's fair market value times your marginal rate, and only if you itemize: a $65 phone at a 22% bracket generally saves about $14. Itemizers face a new floor of 0.5% of income on charitable deductions starting in 2026, and the new deduction for people who take the standard deduction is, as currently written, for cash gifts only, so a donated phone does not count toward it (how that works; plan around the floor).
At $250 or more for one gift you generally need a written acknowledgment, and above $500 of noncash gifts for the year Form 8283 Section A. A recent Pro model alone can cross $500.
A phone you depreciated or expensed for a business is generally limited to its adjusted basis, often $0 once fully expensed (ordinary income property).
Tablets follow the same rules. An iPad's activation lock and a cracked digitizer matter more than the Pencil or keyboard that came with it, and a keyboard case does not move a tablet onto the laptop row.
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.
Erase the device, then photograph it powered on at the welcome or setup screen, front and back, with the accessories beside it. Record the make, model, storage, and color on your own list before it goes, and note that the activation lock was removed. Ask the charity's receipt to describe it as a used smartphone with the model named, and keep any comparable listings you relied on for the value.
Like new generally means a recent handset with no marks, healthy battery, box and cable included. Good means it works and shows light wear on the frame, with an intact screen. Fair means it works but the glass is scuffed, the battery is tired, or the accessories are gone. Cracked glass or a locked device is generally not deductible; a missing charger only lowers the tier.
Items people log as a cell phone by mistake
Filing an item under the wrong line is the quietest way to end up with a number you cannot support.
Tablet
A separate row with its own band, generally above a phone, and the same activation-lock rule applies. A tablet with a cracked digitizer is worth less than the row suggests, because the whole front assembly is the repair.
E-reader
Priced on its own line and well below a tablet. Battery life and whether the store account can be deregistered are what matter, and a device still tied to an account resells poorly.
Cordless home phone
A different item entirely, with its own low row. Base station, handsets, and a working rechargeable pack are what make it usable, and a set missing its base is not worth listing.
Up, sideways, and out
Every value on this page comes out of the electronics section of the donation value guide, which shows the rest of the category with the same sourcing.
Also in Phones and Tablets
- Answering machine$21, good
Full ranges, all three tiers, and the sources for each are in the electronics valuation guide.
- ValuesElectronics donation valuesThe whole category, item by item, with the published range and the source behind every line.
- ValuesLaptop donation value: what a used laptop is worth for taxesA used laptop in good condition is generally worth $37 to $50 donated. See the range by condition, when a newer model needs sold comps, and what to keep.
- ValuesTV donation value: what a used television is worth for taxesA working flat-screen TV in good condition is generally worth $145 to $230 donated, about $185. What Salvation Army and Goodwill list, and when it is $0.
- ValuesMicrowave donation value: what a used microwave is worth for taxesA donated microwave is worth $10 to $50 for taxes, about $31 in good condition. By condition, what Salvation Army and Goodwill list, what makes it $0.
- ValuesHow much is a donated vacuum cleaner worth?A donated vacuum is generally worth $10 to $40: $36 like new, $26 good, $15 fair. Goodwill and Salvation Army ranges, plus stick, shop and robot vacuums.
- 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 cell phone
Is a locked phone still worth something?
Do I have to wipe the phone before donating?
How do I value a phone that is only a year old?
How much is a donated iPhone worth?
Can I deduct a donated phone if I take the standard deduction in 2026?
Should I trade in, sell, or donate my old phone?
Can I deduct a broken or cracked phone?
Do phone drop boxes give tax receipts?
My phone was a business expense. Can I still deduct it?
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
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 .
- 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 .
- 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 .
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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