TurboTax FMV Tool: How It Works—and What It Doesn’t Replace
TurboTax Online now includes a fair market value lookup for common donated items. It restores useful valuation help inside tax preparation, but it is not a return of the former year-round ItsDeductible service.
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What the TurboTax FMV tool actually does
The new tool solves one specific part of noncash donation entry: helping users estimate fair market value for common donated items while they are preparing a return.
According to TurboTax’s current instructions, users can search for a donated item, choose the closest match, review condition-based estimates, and then enter a value into the charitable-donation workflow. If the listed item is not comparable to what you donated, TurboTax says you can use a custom value instead.
How to use TurboTax’s FMV tool
- 1
Open Donations to charity
Go to Federal Deductions & Credits Donations to charity
- 2
Enter the charity and donation type
Add the charity, select Items and stock, choose the donation category, and enter the donation date.
- 3
Open the valuation search
Select Help me value my donations below the Donation value field.
- 4
Find the closest item match
Search for the donated item and choose the most comparable result.
- 5
Review condition and enter the value
TurboTax currently presents estimates for Excellent / like new and Fair / used condition, with a custom-value option when needed.
Multiple identical items: TurboTax says you can multiply the selected item’s FMV by the quantity donated. Different items are generally better entered individually.
Valuation help is back. ItsDeductible is not.
Intuit discontinued ItsDeductible on October 21, 2025. The current FMV tool is narrower: it lives inside TurboTax Online and focuses on valuation during tax preparation.
This is not a criticism of the TurboTax feature. It is useful for people already preparing a TurboTax Online return. It simply solves a narrower part of the donation workflow than ItsDeductible did.
FMV is not a universal “right” number
Fair market value · IRS Publication 561
The IRS defines fair market value as the price property would sell for on the open market between a willing buyer and willing seller, with both having reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts.
Valuation
Condition and comparability matter
Age, wear, brand, completeness, demand, and local market conditions can affect value. A lookup result is most useful when the item and condition are genuinely comparable.
Documentation
Keep support with the record
Photos, receipts, item descriptions, and comparable-market evidence can help support how you arrived at an estimate.
Important: estimated values are a starting point. They are not IRS-approved values, tax advice, or a substitute for a qualified appraisal when one is required.
Why year-round tracking still matters
If you made several donation drop-offs during the year, a valuation lookup cannot know which items left the house, their condition on the donation date, which organization received them, or which receipt belongs to which group of items.
physical goods in the median completed donation
A lookup prices one item at a time. A photo can capture the whole donation.
In ItsDeducted’s 2026 Donation Value Report, an anonymized snapshot of 25,879 physical donated goods, the median completed donation contained 17 goods. Valuing that donation with a manual lookup means 17 separate searches.
ItsDeducted is built around that earlier moment. You can turn photos or item lists into organized donation records with estimated fair market values, then keep the details together for later review.
Know when additional IRS rules may apply
The IRS requirements become more detailed as claimed noncash deductions rise, and special rules apply to certain types of property.
Keep the record
Item details, photos, and receipts support whatever value you claim.
Form 8283 generally enters the picture
The IRS generally requires Form 8283 when the deduction for a noncash contribution is more than $500, including when a group of similar items exceeds that amount.
A qualified appraisal is generally required
For an item or group of similar items with a claimed deduction above $5,000, a qualified appraisal and Form 8283 Section B are generally required, subject to exceptions.
Scale is illustrative, not proportional.
Clothing and household goods generally must be in good used condition or better. A limited exception applies to certain individual items valued above $500 when supported by a qualified appraisal. See the current Form 8283 instructions and our Form 8283 guide for more detail.
Common questions about TurboTax’s FMV tool
More on TurboTax, ItsDeductible, and donation tracking
ItsDeducted provides estimated fair market values and recordkeeping support. It does not provide tax, legal, or financial advice. ItsDeducted is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Intuit or TurboTax. TurboTax and ItsDeductible are trademarks of Intuit Inc.
Keep the donation details before tax time.
Take a photo, import a list, or add items manually so valuation and recordkeeping do not have to start from memory months later.