Updated October 21, 2026. Quick answer: Publication 561 is the IRS guide to valuing property other than cash that you give to a qualified organization, and the web edition is the 12/2025 revision. It says that you must file a Form 8283 if the deduction for each noncash contribution is more than $500. A qualified appraisal comes into play above $5,000.
Quick reference
| Item | As the IRS publication states it |
|---|---|
| Receipt advised for property worth less than (Substantiation) | $250 |
| Form 8283 required when the deduction for each noncash contribution is more than (Form 8283) | $500 |
| Qualified appraisal and Form 8283 Section B for a claimed deduction of more than (Deductions of More Than $5,000) | $5,000 |
| Appraisal must be attached for a claimed deduction of more than (Deductions of More Than $500,000) | $500,000 |
| Art donation, appraisal attached to Form 8283 at (Art and Collectibles) | $20,000 or more |
| Art donation, Statement of Value request available at (Art and Collectibles) | $50,000 or more |
| Valuation misstatement penalty (Penalty) | 20% (40% in the higher case) |
What the publication covers
The introduction says “This publication is designed to help donors and appraisers determine the value of property (other than cash) that is given to qualified organizations.” The IRS page for this edition reads “Revised: December 2025”.
It also states a limit on its own scope: “This publication does not discuss how to figure the amount of your deduction for charitable contributions or written records and substantiation required.” It sends readers to Pub. 526 for that, and the forms it lists are 8282, 8283 and 8283-V.
What the chapters cover
- What Is Fair Market Value (FMV)? and Determining FMV: the factors, with cost or selling price, sales of comparable properties, replacement cost and opinions of professional appraisers.
- Problems in Determining FMV.
- Valuation of Various Kinds of Property: household items, used clothing, art and collectibles, cars, boats and aircraft, inventory, patents, stocks and bonds, real estate, interests in a business and annuities.
- Partial interests and qualified conservation contributions.
- Substantiation of Noncash Charitable Contributions: the contemporaneous written acknowledgment (CWA), Form 8283 and the qualified appraisal.
- IRS Review of Appraisals and Penalty.
Fair market value
The IRS defines the term this way: “FMV is the price that property would sell for on the open market.” The date matters too: “To figure how much you may deduct for property that you contribute, you must first determine its FMV on the date of the contribution.”
For listed stock, “If there is an active public market for the contributed stocks or bonds on a stock exchange, in an over-the-counter market, or elsewhere, the FMV of each share or bond is the average price between the highest and lowest quoted selling prices on the valuation date.” For gifts of appreciated shares compared with cash, see donating appreciated stock vs cash.
On clothing, “You cannot take an income tax charitable contribution deduction for an item of clothing unless it is in good used condition or better.”
The dollar thresholds
On the small end, “If you give property worth less than $250 to charity, you should obtain a receipt from the charity.” Then, “If you give property worth between $250 and $5,000, you must obtain a CWA.”
On Form 8283 the publication says “You must file a Form 8283 if the amount of your deduction for each noncash contribution is more than $500”. See Form 8283 and Form 8283 Section A.
Above $5,000 the rule starts with “if the claimed deduction for an item or group of similar items of donated property is more than $5,000” and then requires, among other steps, to “Complete and attach Form 8283 to your tax return.” See Form 8283 Section B.
At the top, “If you claim a deduction of more than $500,000 for a donation of property, you must attach a qualified appraisal of the property to your return.”
For art, “If you claim a deduction of $20,000 or more for an income tax charitable contribution donation of art, you must attach the qualified appraisal for the art to the Form 8283.” It also says “If you donate an item of art that has been appraised at $50,000 or more, you can request a Statement of Value for that item from the IRS.”
Appraisals and penalties
On timing, a qualified appraisal must be “signed by the qualified appraiser and dated no earlier than 60 days before the date of the contribution”. On the cost, “You may not take a charitable contribution deduction for fees you pay for appraisals of your donated property.” See the charitable appraisal requirement.
On IRS review, “The IRS is responsible for reviewing appraisals, but it is not responsible for making them.” “Supporting the FMV listed on your return is your responsibility.”
The penalty section starts with “The penalty is 20% of the underpayment of tax related to the misstatement” and the first test is “The value or adjusted basis claimed on the return is 150% or more of the correct amount, and” The second test is “You underpaid your tax by more than $5,000 because of the misstatement.” The higher tier reads “The value or adjusted basis claimed on the return is 200% or more of the correct amount, and”
Where this comes from
The IRS page About Publication 561 opens with “Publication 561 is designed to help donors and appraisers determine:” It links the PDF and eBook editions and the earlier revisions of the publication.
This page describes the web edition of Publication 561 (12/2025), Determining the Value of Donated Property, as served on irs.gov on October 21, 2026. The IRS can revise a publication after we read it, and the IRS page controls. General information, not tax or legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Using an insurance appraisal as the charity value. The publication warns that an insured value “reflects only the replacement cost of the jewelry when you obtained the appraisal.”
- Deducting the appraiser’s fee as part of the gift. The IRS says “You may not take a charitable contribution deduction for fees you pay for appraisals of your donated property.”
- Expecting the IRS to approve a value before filing. The publication says “The IRS generally does not approve valuations or appraisals before the actual filing of the tax return to which the appraisal applies.”
- Looking here for how to figure the deduction amount. The introduction says “This publication does not discuss how to figure the amount of your deduction for charitable contributions or written records and substantiation required.”
Related: IRS publications by number, Form 8283, Charitable appraisal requirement, Schedule A line 12, gifts other than cash or check, Donating appreciated stock vs cash, Schedule A (Form 1040), and Charitable giving.
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Answer againSources
- IRS, Publication 561 (12/2025), Determining the Value of Donated Property (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/publications/p561
- IRS, About Publication 561, Determining the Value of Donated Property (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-561
Read from the IRS pages linked above on October 21, 2026. General information, not tax or legal advice. The IRS publication and the instructions for your own form control, and your own facts decide the outcome.