What are donated pots and pans worth, per piece and per set?
Updated , edition 2026.1
A used pot or pan in good condition is generally worth about $2 for a tax deduction ($1.75 to $2.50), and a typical 10-piece set about $12, because the lids ride free. Cookware is judged on the cooking surface, not the outside, which is the opposite of how most people photograph it.
- Typical value, good condition
- $2
- Published range, good condition
- $1.75 to $2.50
What donated pots and pans are 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.
A set has no published range of its own. Count the pans, not the lids: see what a set is worth.
Count yours
Set a count and a condition on each line for a total range you can print, link to, or save.
6 pieces, suggested total
$12
Supported range $10.50 to $15
- 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
Four charity guides publish a pot and pan row, most of them at $1 to $3. We take the lower median of the published lows and highs ($1 to $3) and split it into three condition bands. Bakeware is printed on the same band.
The dataset record
Published: Salvation Army 'Pot/Pan' $1-$3; Goodwill Intl 'Pots and pans' $1-$3; St. Vincent de Paul 'Pots and pans' $2-$5; Goodwill CNAZ 'Pots & pans' $1-$35. Corroborating: Catholic Charities $2-$10; Goodwill avg-price $2. Consolidated $1-$3 (lower median); tiers per CITATIONS.md 3.4-3.5. The lower median absorbs the Arizona $35 ceiling. Guides publish one range for pots and pans as a class; it applies to each shape.
The same rules apply to every item: how the values are built. Want a different condition? Look up this pots and pans in the value tool.
- Like new
- Unused or nearly so, coating intact, lid present, no heat marking.
- Good
- Normal cooking wear on a flat, sound base with an intact cooking surface.
- Fair
- Cooks fine but stained, the base is dulled, or a lid is missing.
What drives the value of donated pots and pans
The tier you pick is the biggest lever on this page. Here is what actually decides it.
Nonstick coating is the single largest divide. A pan whose coating is scratched, blistered, or flaking is not resold by anyone, and charities discard it, so it generally is not a deduction at all regardless of how the outside looks. Uncoated stainless, aluminum, and enameled pieces are far more forgiving: discoloration and heat tint on stainless are cosmetic, and a scrubbed pan with a clean cooking face can honestly sit in the middle tier.
Flatness is the second test and takes two seconds. Set the pan on a level counter and press one edge; a base that rocks has warped, and a warped pan heats unevenly and will not sit on an induction hob at all. Loose handle rivets, a handle that has softened or cracked from oven use, and a lid whose knob is gone are all structural rather than cosmetic, and each moves a piece down a tier.
Lids and completeness quietly matter. A saucepan with its matching lid is a usable pot and one without is a pot somebody has to find a lid for, and the same logic applies to stockpots and dutch ovens. Cast iron is the exception to almost all of this: a seasoned or even surface-rusted pan is restorable and holds value if it is not cracked or warped, which is why cast iron often deserves the tier above what its appearance suggests. Boxed cookware sets carry no published range in our sources and should be counted piece by piece instead.
What is a set of pots and pans worth?
A set is priced from its pieces: the charities' own per-piece range multiplied by the vessels you count. Lids ride free. Other sites print $10 to $60 or more for a set with no source; this is the figure you can defend. The counter on this page starts with a 10-piece set.
| Set as sold | Vessels counted | Good (suggested, range) | Like new | Fair |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5-piece (3 pans, 2 lids) | 3 | $6 ($5.25 to $7.50) | $8.25 ($7.50 to $9) | $3.75 ($3 to $5.25) |
| 7-piece (4 pans, 3 lids) | 4 | $8 ($7 to $10) | $11 ($10 to $12) | $5 ($4 to $7) |
| 10-piece (6 pans, 4 lids) | 6 | $12 ($10.50 to $15) | $16.50 ($15 to $18) | $7.50 ($6 to $10.50) |
| 12-piece (7 pans, 5 lids) | 7 | $14 ($12.25 to $17.50) | $19.25 ($17.50 to $21) | $8.75 ($7 to $12.25) |
What each charity guide says
Most guides agree on $1 to $3 a piece. The Arizona Goodwill ceiling of $35 is one guide's outlier, and a lower median does not move for one high value. Salvation Army and Goodwill values are compared in full on the blog.
| Guide | Pot or pan | Bakeware |
|---|---|---|
| Salvation Army | $1 to $3 | $1 to $3 |
| Goodwill Industries International | $1 to $3 | $1 to $3 |
| St. Vincent de Paul Cincinnati | $2 to $5 | $1 to $5 |
| Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona | $1 to $35 | None |
| Catholic Charities Maine (check only) | $2 to $10 | $2 to $10 |
| Goodwill average price list (check only) | $2 | None |
Cast iron, copper and premium brands
Charity guides price these as ordinary pots, so $2 is the conservative floor. Fair market value under IRS Publication 561 is what the item sells for used, so a Lodge skillet, an enameled Dutch oven or a vintage Griswold or Wagner piece can be valued from three sold listings of the same piece.
Keep the screenshots, a photo of the brand marking on the underside, and photos of the cooking surface and base. Vintage Pyrex and CorningWare are the bakeware version of the same rule: collector demand, not the $2 row. Similar items over $500 need a fuller description on Form 8283, and over $5,000 a qualified appraisal.
Will the charity take it?
Clean, resalable cookware is generally accepted. Rusted, stained or flaking pieces are turned away, and scratched nonstick belongs in scrap-metal recycling, not the donation box.
What a kitchen clear-out adds up to
Household goods only reduce tax if you itemize, and from 2026 itemized charitable gifts are generally reduced by 0.5% of AGI. Ten cookware pieces, twelve plates and eight mugs at Good come to about $51: worth logging because it adds to the rest of the year, not because it stands alone. See should you itemize and the dishes page for the rest of the cupboard.
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 inside of each pan, not the outside, with the light across the surface so scratches and pitting are visible, and lay the lids with their pans in the same frame. Count the pieces on the list you hand over, and note the material for anything unusual such as cast iron, copper, or enameled steel, since those are the pieces where the tier is easiest to question later.
Like new generally means unused or nearly so, coating intact, lids present, and no heat marking. Good means normal cooking wear on a sound base with an intact surface. Fair means it cooks but is stained, the base is dulled, or a lid is missing. A flaking nonstick surface, a warped base, or a loose handle puts a pan below Fair, which means it is not a deduction.
Items people log as pots and pans by mistake
Filing an item under the wrong line is the quietest way to end up with a number you cannot support.
Cookware set
Our sources publish no range for a boxed set, so count the pans, not the lids, on their own rows. The set table on this page multiplies the per-piece range out for 5, 7, 10 and 12-piece sets.
Bakeware
Sheet pans, cake tins, and roasting pans sit on their own rows. They are valued the same way but stain far more, and a darkened cookie sheet is still perfectly usable, so surface color alone should not drop the tier.
Small kitchen appliances
A slow cooker, air fryer, or stand mixer is an appliance, not cookware, and is valued in the appliance section. Donating both means entries in two categories.
Up, sideways, and out
Every value on this page comes out of the kitchen and housewares section of the donation value guide, which shows the rest of the category with the same sourcing.
Also in Kitchen Pots and Pans
- Bakeware, Casserole or Baking Dish$2, good
Full ranges, all three tiers, and the sources for each are in the kitchen and housewares valuation guide.
- ValuesKitchen and housewares donation valuesThe whole category, item by item, with the published range and the source behind every line.
- ValuesDishes donation value: what plates, mugs and glasses are worth for taxesDonated dishes are valued per piece: plates $0.50 to $3, mugs and glasses $0.50 to $2. Count your box, see the total, and copy a receipt line for your records.
- 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 refrigerator worth?A working donated fridge is worth about $80 to $260 in 2026, around $175 in good condition. Check your fridge's tier, who takes it, and what to photograph.
- ValuesHow much is a donated blanket worth?A donated blanket in good condition is worth about $7 to $11; a comforter $10 to $16; a quilt $10 to $18. Total a whole linen closet and save it for 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 pots and pans
Is a scratched nonstick pan deductible?
Do lids count as separate items?
How should I value cast iron?
How much is a set of pots and pans worth for a donation?
What is a cast iron skillet worth as a donation?
Does Goodwill take pots and pans?
Do I need a receipt for donated cookware?
Can I deduct pots and pans if I take the standard deduction in 2026?
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 .
- Valuation Guide for St. Vincent de Paul - Cincinnati Donors
Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Cincinnati (St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Shops)
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 Donation Values
Goodwill of Central & Northern Arizona
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 .
- 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 .
- 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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