How much are donated video games worth for taxes?
Updated , edition 2026.1
Most used games are worth a few dollars each: about $3 on most Goodwill sheets, with other published guides as high as $5 to $40. A working console is the line worth getting right, at $20 to $50 for a used, older-generation unit, and a handful of retro or sealed titles are worth far more than any guide prints. Digital libraries cannot be donated at all, because a license generally cannot be given away.
- Typical value, good condition
- $3
- Published range, good condition
- $3
Video game and console donation values by condition (2026)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Video game (disc or cartridge) | $3 | $3 | $3 | Source 1 for Video game (disc or cartridge)Source 2 for Video game (disc or cartridge)Source 3 for Video game (disc or cartridge) |
| Game console (used, prior generation) | $41 to $50 | $31 to $41 | $20 to $31 | Source 4 for Game console (used, prior generation)Source 5 for Game console (used, prior generation)Source 3 for Game console (used, prior generation)Source 2 for Game console (used, prior generation) |
| Computer game (boxed) | $3 | $3 | $3 | Source 1 for Computer game (boxed)Source 2 for Computer game (boxed)Source 3 for Computer game (boxed) |
| Controller | No guide prices this one. Enter your own figure and keep the evidence for it. | |||
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.
The console row is a used, prior-generation console; current-generation units need comparable sales. Retro or sealed titles are valued from sold listings, not this table. Digital games are worth $0: a license is not transferable. Controllers carry no published range.
Count yours
Set a count and a condition on each line for a total range you can print, link to, or save.
5 pieces, suggested total
$48
Supported range $43 to $53
- 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
A Goodwill guide prints a video game at $3 as a single point, so every tier shows $3. Goodwill of Northern Illinois prints $5 to $40, which we register as corroborating rather than primary, so it does not move the figure. The console row describes a used, prior-generation console from a thrift shelf, not a current one.
The dataset record
No primary source prices video games. Goodwill Int'l's single-value list prints "Video Game $3", a point value registered corroborating (CITATIONS.md 3.1). Zero primary sources means the corroborating fallback applies (CITATIONS.md 3.3): L*=H*=$3.00, S=0, so all three tiers collapse to one figure per the degenerate-span rule. Flagged lowConfidence. Single home for game software: the duplicate under Consumer Electronics: Gaming Consoles was removed 2026-08-04. That subcategory catalogues console hardware; a disc or cartridge is a game, and this is where a donor bagging up games looks first. CORROBORATION 2026-08-04 (registry pass, no values changed): goodwill-wnct-valuation-guide "Video Game" $3.00 point value; goodwill-northern-illinois-valuation-guide "Video game" $5.00-$40.00. 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 video games in the value tool.
- 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 donated video games
The tier you pick is the biggest lever on this page. Here is what actually decides it.
For a disc or cartridge game, value tracks completeness in the collector's sense: the case, the printed cover art, and the manual where one existed. A loose disc in a sleeve sells for a fraction of the same title complete, and a cartridge with a peeled or missing label is hard to shelve. Disc scratches that cause a game to hang are the end of it, and cartridge contacts that need cleaning are usually fine once cleaned.
Consoles are a different product on a different row and carry a much higher band, but only when they are usable. That means the correct power supply, the video cable, at least one working controller, and, on anything modern, a factory reset with the owner's account removed. A console still signed in is effectively locked to a stranger and is not resalable, which is exactly the situation that turns a valuable donation into a paperweight.
The last driver is platform generation. Current and recent-generation games move quickly, the generation just retired sits, and older cartridges swing between near worthless and genuinely collectible depending on the title. Our sources publish one band for a game rather than tracking titles, so anything you believe sits above the row needs recent comparable sales for that specific title and condition as its support.
Is a game worth more than the row?
Check the platform and era first; older cartridges and sealed copies are where the exceptions live. Then look up the exact title and condition in sold, not asking, listings on eBay or PriceCharting, and screenshot two or three completed sales with their dates. Use the median, not the highest, and note whether the copy is complete in box, loose or sealed.
That is fair market value by comparable sales. Collections valued together count as a group of similar items, so a retro shelf over $5,000 needs a qualified appraisal.
Reset by platform
A console still signed in is effectively locked to you. Deregister it from your account, remove saved payment methods, then factory reset it from the system settings. On PlayStation, deactivate it as your primary console first; on Xbox, choose the reset that removes everything; on Nintendo Switch, deregister it from your Nintendo Account before you initialize it; on a Steam Deck, use the factory reset in system settings. Menu names change between updates, so follow the maker's current instructions.
Photograph the setup screen after the reset. That photo is the evidence the console was resalable when it left. Wiping a laptop or phone works the same way; see the electronics guide.
What a common problem does to the value
Most issues on games are completeness; most on consoles are setup. The table sorts them.
| Issue | Effect | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Disc hangs or will not load | $0 | Leave it off the list |
| Missing case or manual | Toward Fair, or loose value | Note it on the line |
| Peeled cartridge label | Fair | Note it |
| Console still signed in | Not resalable | Reset it first |
| Missing power or video cable | Fair or below | Include the cables |
| Dead handheld battery | Bottom of the band | Note it |
Where video games are accepted, and where it is not a donation
Goodwill and the Salvation Army generally take working games and consoles, though many locations refuse untested consoles. Some children's hospitals and gaming charities take them too. A trade-in at a game store is a sale, and a for-profit thrift store is not a qualified organization, so neither is a deduction.
Worked example: one console in good condition ($36), 10 games in good condition and 4 in fair ($3 each) come to $78, the counter's starting tally. Two retro titles waiting on comparable sales stay off the total until you have them. Clearing the rest of the room? Add it in the donation calculator.
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 games stacked with spines legible and the console powered on at the setup screen after the reset, with its controller and cables beside it. Record the console model number and the game count, and keep any comparable listings for individual titles you valued above the row. Ask the charity's receipt to name the console model specifically rather than listing electronics.
Like new generally means sealed or barely played, case and art intact, console unmarked with all cables. Good means played, complete, light case wear, console clean and functional. Fair means it works but the case is cracked, the manual is gone, or the console is scuffed and has one tired controller. A game that hangs, a console that does not output video, or one still tied to an account is below Fair and generally not deductible.
Items people log as video games by mistake
Filing an item under the wrong line is the quietest way to end up with a number you cannot support.
Game consoles
The console is its own row and worth considerably more than the games that go with it, so bundling them into one line understates the donation. Cables and controllers stay with the console rather than becoming separate lines.
Handheld consoles
Priced separately again, and the battery and screen are what decide the tier. A handheld with a dead internal battery or a scratched screen sits at the bottom of its band.
Computer games and digital keys
Boxed PC games have their own low row, and an already-redeemed license key has no resale value. Digital libraries are not transferable and are not a noncash contribution.
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.
Also in Video Games
- Handheld Console$3, good
Full ranges, all three tiers, and the sources for each are in the toys and games valuation guide.
- ValuesToys and games donation valuesThe whole category, item by item, with the published range and the source behind every line.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- ValuesBoard game donation value: what a used game is worth for taxesA donated board game is generally worth $1 to $3, about $2 in good condition. Card games, chess sets and puzzles by condition, plus when a game is worth more.
- 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 video games
Can I deduct digital games I no longer play?
Should the console and the games be one line?
What about older or retro cartridges?
Are video games tax deductible if I trade them in at GameStop?
How much is a donated Xbox or PlayStation worth?
Do I need to list every game title?
Is a game collection a group of similar items?
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.
- 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 .
- 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 .
- 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 .
- 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 .
- 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 .
- 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.
Video games are rarely the only thing in the car.
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Condition on the record
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