Clothing, edition 2026.1

How much is a donated suit worth for taxes?

Updated , edition 2026.1

A donated men's two-piece suit in good used condition is generally worth $28 to $46 for tax purposes (typical $36). Like new runs $46 to $60, fair $10 to $28, and a tuxedo uses the same band. A lone suit jacket is about $8 to $10 and lone suit trousers about $6 to $9. A suit is worth what it is worth only while it is still a suit.

Typical value, good condition
$36
Published range, good condition
$28 to $46
Values, edition 2026.1

What a donated men's suit 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.

Men's suit: fair market value ranges by condition, edition 2026.1
ItemLike newGoodFairSource
Men's two-piece suit (complete)$46 to $60$28 to $46$10 to $28Source 1 for Men's two-piece suit (complete)Source 2 for Men's two-piece suit (complete)Source 3 for Men's two-piece suit (complete)Source 4 for Men's two-piece suit (complete)Source 5 for Men's two-piece suit (complete)
Three-piece suit (one 2012 source, low confidence)$13 to $15$10 to $13$7 to $10Source 1 for Three-piece suit (one 2012 source, low confidence)
Tuxedo$46 to $60$28 to $46$10 to $28Source 5 for Tuxedo
Suit jacket on its own, or sport coat$10 to $12$8 to $10$6 to $8Source 1 for Suit jacket on its own, or sport coatSource 3 for Suit jacket on its own, or sport coat
Suit trousers on their own$9 to $12$6 to $9$2 to $6Source 1 for Suit trousers on their ownSource 2 for Suit trousers on their ownSource 3 for Suit trousers on their ownSource 5 for Suit trousers on their own
Women's two-piece suitWomen's Clothing$23 to $30$14 to $23$6 to $14Source 3 for Women's two-piece suitSource 4 for Women's two-piece suitSource 5 for Women's two-piece suit
Women's suit jacket on its ownWomen's Clothing$10 to $12$8 to $10$6 to $8Source 3 for Women's suit jacket on its own

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

$36

Supported range $28 to $46

Link to this tally
Save these 1 men's suit items ($36) in DeductiBee

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

Five charity guides publish a men's suit row, from $5 at the low end to $96 at the high end. We take the lower median of the published lows and highs ($10 to $62) and split it into three condition bands.

The dataset record

Published: Salvation Army Suit $16-$62; Goodwill GII men's Two-piece $10-$30; Goodwill NNE men's 2pc Suit $5-$96; Catholic Charities (2012) Suits Men's $5-$15; Goodwill average price list Business Suit $12. Lower-median L*=$10, H*=$62; 35/70 tier split per CITATIONS.md; suggested $19 fair / $37 good / $55 like new.

The same rules apply to every item: how the values are built. Want a different condition? Look up this men's suit in the value tool.

Like new
Back from the cleaner, no shine or wear at the seat, cuffs or elbows, lining intact, both pieces present.
Good
Worn and cared for, light wear at the high-wear points, matching pieces, no damage.
Fair
Some shine from pressing or a worn cuff, lining sound, still wearable to an interview.
What moves the number

What drives the value of a donated men's suit

The tier you pick is the biggest lever on this page. Here is what actually decides it.

Completeness is the whole argument. A two-piece suit is one item when the jacket and trousers are the same cloth, the same size, and both present, and that complete pairing is the top of this page. A jacket on its own falls to the suit-jacket line, which is a fraction of it, and an orphaned pair of suit trousers is priced as dress pants. Before logging anything, confirm the two pieces actually match, since closets separate suits quietly over the years.

The tables here carry one result that looks wrong: the three-piece row sits below the two-piece row. Only one guide, a 2012 Catholic Charities list, prints a three-piece row at all, and it is low confidence. That guide actually prices its three-piece above its own men's suit row; the gap here comes from comparing that one old source with a two-piece band built from five. If your three-piece is a two-piece suit plus a matching vest, the two-piece row with the vest as its own item is the better-supported reading.

Condition on tailored clothing is read at the high-wear points: the seat and inner thighs of the trousers, the elbows and cuffs of the jacket, the lining at the armholes, and the shine that develops on wool that has been pressed too often. Alterations are neutral if they are reversible, and a taken-in waist usually is. A shortened sleeve with the buttons moved is not, and it narrows who can wear the suit.

What the charity guides print

What each charity guide publishes for a suit

Charity guides print one band per row that covers every condition, so their ceilings swing widely. We take the lower median of every published low and high, which arrives at $10 to $62 for a complete men's two-piece, then split it into three condition tiers. Why our values can look lower explains the method.

Published men's suit figures by guide
GuideRowPublished range
Salvation ArmySuit (tuxedo $10 to $62)$16 to $62
Goodwill Industries InternationalMen's two-piece suit$10 to $30
Goodwill Northern New EnglandMen's 2pc suit$5 to $96
Catholic Charities (2012)Suits, men's$5 to $15
Goodwill average price listBusiness suit$12 point value
DeductiBee 2026.1Men's two-piece, all conditions$10 to $62
Above the published bands

Designer, custom-tailored, or nearly new suits

Published bands stop near $60 because thrift guides price the rack, not the label. A Brooks Brothers, Hugo Boss or made-to-measure suit can be worth more, but the higher figure has to come from evidence: recent sold listings for the same label, size and condition, saved as screenshots with the record. Thrift and consignment sale prices are the standard under IRS Publication 561.

Some charity guides offer a rule of thumb of about 30% of the original price for unlisted items. Treat it as a cross-check, not a method: courts have rejected percentage-of-new estimates. A suit pushes your year toward the $500 Form 8283 line faster than most clothing, and similar items above $5,000 need a qualified appraisal.

Where it goes

Where to donate a suit

Career-clothing programs and local suit drives put a suit straight onto someone headed to an interview; thrift stores resell it. The deduction is the same thrift fair market value either way, and it only counts if the recipient is a qualified organization.

Closet clean-outs

A bag of business clothes?

Do not value suits at a per-bag rate. List each suit on its own line at its own tier, then run the shirts, ties and the rest through the bag value calculator. Four suits in good condition alone come to about $144.

Backing up the tier

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 jacket and trousers together on one hanger so the match is visible in a single frame, then take the interior label, which usually carries the size, the cloth, and sometimes the maker. Add a shot of the lining at the underarms and one of the trouser seat. A suit that comes back from the cleaner in a bag and goes straight to the charity has the strongest possible like-new record, and the cleaning receipt is worth keeping alongside the photograph.

Not the same thing

Items people log as a men's suit by mistake

Filing an item under the wrong line is the quietest way to end up with a number you cannot support.

  • A blazer or sport coat

    An odd jacket that never had matching trousers is a blazer, priced on its own line well below a complete suit. Navy and formal-looking is not the test; whether matching trousers exist is.

  • A lone suit jacket

    Once the trousers are gone the jacket is valued on the suit-jacket row, not on the suit row. This is the most expensive filing mistake available in a clothing donation, because the gap between the two lines is large.

  • A women's suit

    Women's two-piece suits are published on their own line and generally below the men's two-piece. The tables here show both so the right row is one glance away rather than an assumption.

Where to go next

Up, sideways, and out

Every value on this page comes out of the clothing section of the donation value guide, which shows the rest of the category with the same sourcing.

FAQ

Questions about donating a men's suit

Do I log a suit as one item or two?
One, as long as the jacket and trousers are the matching pieces of the same suit. That is how the published line is written, and splitting a complete suit into two entries generally understates it rather than doubling it.
Why is the three-piece suit valued below the two-piece?
Because only one guide prints a three-piece row, a 2012 Catholic Charities list ($7 to $15), and it is a low-confidence source. That same guide prices a three-piece above its plain men's suit. The two-piece band comes from five guides with much higher ceilings, so the two rows are not comparable. We show the published figure rather than invent one, and flag it.
Is a tuxedo worth more than a suit?
In these sources it shares the complete two-piece suit band. If yours includes the accessories that make it wearable, a cummerbund, studs, or a bow tie, note them in the description, since a complete tuxedo is a different proposition to a resale shop than a lone dinner jacket.
Does a suit push me toward Form 8283?
One suit generally will not, but it is among the highest per-item clothing values here, so a closet of them can. Form 8283 generally comes into play once noncash giving for the year passes $500 in total, counting everything, not just the clothes.
How much is a donated suit worth at Goodwill?
Goodwill does not set a value; you do. Its guides print a men's two-piece suit at $10 to $30 (Goodwill Industries International) and $5 to $96 (Goodwill Northern New England). The comparison table on this page shows every guide side by side.
How do I value a designer suit like Hugo Boss or Brooks Brothers?
From recent sold listings of the same label, size and condition, saved with the record. Thrift guides stop at about $60 and do not price labels. A designer suit valued above $5,000, alone or with similar items that year, needs a qualified appraisal.
Can I deduct what I paid for the suit?
No. The deduction is fair market value, what the suit would sell for used today.
Is a suit donated to a career-clothing charity deductible?
Yes, if the program is run by a qualified organization. The value is the same thrift fair market value wherever the suit goes. Check the group with the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search.

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.

  1. 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 .

  2. Valuation Guide for Goodwill Donors (single average price variant)

    Goodwill Industries International (single-value variant; copy hosted by Goodwill Industries of East Texas)

    Corroborating check. Used to sanity-check a band. Never moves a figure on its own. Fetched and read .

  3. 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 .

  4. 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 .

  5. 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 .

The rules behind the thresholds

  1. Publication 561, Determining the Value of Donated PropertyIRS, IRS publication
  2. Publication 526, Charitable ContributionsIRS, IRS publication
  3. 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.

One item is never one item

A men's suit is rarely the only thing in the car.

DeductiBee carries this same dataset on your iPhone, so the rest of the load gets valued and photographed at the drop-off instead of reconstructed in April.

Same numbers, offline

Edition 2026.1 ships inside the app, so a value never depends on a server being up in January.

Condition on the record

The tier you picked and the photo that supports it stay attached to the item, on your device.

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