What is a donated winter coat worth for taxes?
Coats are the highest-value garment most people donate, and the biggest mistake is not the condition tier. It is logging a jacket on the coat line.
- Typical value, good condition
- $24
- Published range, good condition
- $19 to $30
What a donated winter coat 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter parka | $30 to $40 | $19 to $30 | $7 to $19 | Source 1 for Winter parka |
| Coat | $30 to $40 | $19 to $30 | $7 to $19 | Source 1 for Coat |
| Wool coat | $30 to $40 | $19 to $30 | $7 to $19 | Source 1 for Wool coat |
| Down coat | $30 to $40 | $19 to $30 | $7 to $19 | Source 1 for Down coat |
| Pea coat | $30 to $40 | $19 to $30 | $7 to $19 | Source 1 for Pea coat |
| Parka or winter coatMen's Clothing | $12 to $15 | $9 to $12 | $5 to $9 | Source 3 for Parka or winter coat |
| CoatMen's Clothing | $30 to $40 | $19 to $30 | $7 to $19 | Source 4 for Coat |
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
Inherited from the published "Coat (Women's)" range: A parka is a coat. No registered guide prices this item separately, and inheriting the broader class range never raises the value. Published: salvation-army-donation-value-guide "Coat" $10-$41; goodwill-gii-donor-valuation-guide "Outerwear: Coat (Women's)" $7-$40. Consolidated by lower median to L*=$7, H*=$40; tiers split at 0/35/70/100% of the span per CITATIONS.md §3.4-3.6.
- 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 winter coat
The tier you pick is the biggest lever on this page. Here is what actually decides it.
The published sources price outerwear by garment class rather than by fill. A down parka, a wool overcoat, and a pea coat generally share one band in the women's lines, which will surprise anyone who assumed the down would outrank the wool. We publish that as it was published. Where the men's and women's sources disagree, as they do on a parka, the table shows both rows rather than averaging them into a number nobody printed.
Within the class, the shell and the closures decide the tier. Look for pilling and shine on wool, a delaminated or crackling waterproof membrane on a technical shell, down escaping at the seams, and a zipper that separates halfway up. A coat with a dead zipper is a repair job to a resale shop, and a fur or shearling collar that has matted flat pulls the whole garment down even when the body is fine.
Fur is a separate line entirely, priced far above the rest of the coats, and a real fur coat should be logged as one rather than folded into this row. Leather is treated as its own outerwear item in the men's lines and carries no published range at all, so a leather coat asks for your own figure and your own comparable sales.
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.
Hang the coat rather than laying it flat and photograph it front and back, then take one frame of the zipper or buttons fully closed and one of the lining at the shoulders and cuffs, which is where wear shows first. A coat that has been dry cleaned in the last season and still carries the tag has an unusually clean argument for the top tier, and the tag is worth photographing.
Coats are also the item where a receipt from the charity is most likely to be itemized rather than generic, since intake staff notice them. Ask for the description to name the garment and keep it with the photograph.
Items people log as a winter coat by mistake
Filing an item under the wrong line is the quietest way to end up with a number you cannot support.
A jacket
Jackets are their own line and sit below coats in the adult sources by a wide margin. Length is the usual test: hip-length and unlined is a jacket, thigh-length and insulated is a coat. Guessing upward here is the fastest way to a number you cannot defend.
A fur coat
Fur is priced on a separate line an order above the wool and down rows, and it is also the outerwear item most likely to push a single garment toward the value where documentation matters. Log it as fur and keep whatever provenance you have.
A snowsuit or ski gear
One-piece snowsuits belong to the children's outerwear lines, and ski and snowboard clothing generally sells through a different channel than a town coat. Neither one borrows this row.
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.
Also in Coats
- Raincoat$24, good
- Trench coat$24, good
- Fur coat$230, good
- Other$24, good
Full ranges, all three tiers, and the sources for each are in the clothing valuation guide.
- ValuesClothing donation valuesThe whole category, item by item, with the published range and the source behind every line.
- 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.
- 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.
- ValuesWhat is a donated sweater worth for taxes?Fair market value for a donated sweater, why cashmere carries no published premium here, and what moth damage does to the condition tier you can claim.
- ValuesHow much is a donated dress worth?What a donated dress is generally worth, why formal and cocktail dresses sit on a higher published line, and what evidence supports the tier you pick.
- 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 winter coat
Is a down coat worth more than a wool coat?
What counts as a coat rather than a jacket?
Can I claim a coat that needs a new zipper?
How many coats can I donate before the paperwork changes?
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
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 .
- 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 .
- 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 .
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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