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Furniture appraisals for charitable donation, prepared in accordance with IRS Form 8283 qualified appraisal requirements. AppraiseItNow provides USPAP-compliant fair market value reports for antiques, sets, and household pieces to protect your deduction.
IRS Form 8283 QualifiedTheir customer service is OUTSTANDING… I’d give 10 if possible!
DEFENSIBLE, USPAP-COMPLIANT FURNITURE APPRAISAL REPORTS — QUALIFIED FOR THE IRS, RECEIVING CHARITIES, AND TAX PREPARERS.
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Owner & CEO
Joe founded AppraiseItNow to make a certified, USPAP-compliant appraisal as simple to order as anything else online. A former Bain & Company strategy consultant, Joe leads the entire team and specializes in strategy, growth, and the firm's tech capabilities.
Personal Property Appraiser
ISA Accredited Member with 30 years in the trade, from running estate sales and an auction gallery to appraising luxury apparel, furniture, artwork, antiques, and business assets, primarily for IRS tax filings.
Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
Third-generation auctioneer and CAGA Certified Appraiser with more than 20 years valuing machinery, equipment, vehicles, business assets, and estates for banks, attorneys, and trustees across the Carolinas.
Personal Property Appraiser
ISA Accredited Member specializing in Asian art, with a Master's from SOAS and a Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art. Ashley chairs the ISA's Antiques, Furnishings, and Decorative Arts committee and appraises for charitable donation, insurance, and equitable distribution.
Client Success Manager
Manages each engagement from the first enquiry to the delivered report, and keeps you posted at every step along the way.
International Society of AppraisersAccredited Member
Certified Appraisers Guild of AmericaCertified Appraiser
The Appraisal FoundationAuthorized by Congress as the source of appraisal standardsIRS Form 8283
Once the deduction you claim for donated furniture passes $5,000, the IRS requires a qualified appraisal and Section B of Form 8283. We prepare the appraisal and complete the appraiser's part of the form.
A qualified appraisal is required for items reportable in Section B and in certain cases must be attached.
Both are measured at fair market value, the price a willing buyer and a willing seller would settle on for the piece as it stands today. For an ordinary used sofa that price comes from the used-goods market. For a piece carrying a maker, a period or a workshop, the evidence is what comparable examples have actually sold for, and that second market is where a furniture donation appraisal usually earns its keep.
Four accepted routes
The IRS recognizes four ways to arrive at fair market value. For furniture the weight sits with comparable sales, and the rest are used to test that evidence rather than to stand in for it:
Insurance figures
An insurance schedule states what it would cost to buy the piece again new. A donated piece is measured by what it would sell for used, so a replacement or insurance figure has to be worked back to the secondary market before it supports a deduction at all.
Charity value tables
The IRS publishes no schedule of furniture prices. The ranges circulated by Goodwill, the Salvation Army and tax preparers are accepted as market evidence, but they are not binding. An appraised figure is adjusted for the specific brand, age, condition and local demand rather than taken from the top of a published range.
Attribution is most of the work. We identify the maker, manufacturer or design where the piece supports it, place it in its period and tradition, record condition and any acquisition history, then value it against sales of pieces identified the same way. Our personal property appraisal services cover the full range of donated furniture.
Period and tradition
Age on its own is not the value. Form, timber, joinery and the quality of the work are what place a piece in a tradition and against the right comparables:
Named designers
A mid-century chair by a recognized designer, or a contemporary piece from a named studio, is valued against sales of that model rather than against furniture of similar size and age. Labels, stamps and model numbers are recorded because they are what make the comparison hold. We appraise designer and studio furniture including:
Surface and handwork
Decoration, regional traditions and visible handwork put a piece beyond what a donation table can describe, so each one is photographed and written up on its own terms:
Everyday categories
A donation from a household, an estate or a closing office usually mixes collectible pieces with plain ones, and we value both. The everyday categories we cover include:
A value that is asserted rather than evidenced is the value that gets adjusted. We build each figure from transactions that settled, and describe the piece well enough that a reviewer who has never seen it can follow the reasoning from the description to the number.
Where comparables come from
A listing shows what a seller hoped for. We work from sales that completed for pieces of the same maker, period and form, and record the source of each comparable so it can be checked:
From photographs
Detailed images of the piece, its marks, its labels, its joinery and its wear are usually enough to describe and value it, which is why furniture appraisals run online. Onsite inspection is available where a donation runs to a full household or the contents of an estate.
Qualified appraiser
The qualified appraiser standard asks for demonstrated expertise in the type of property being valued, not appraisal experience in general. Our appraisers hold credentials with organizations such as the ISA, ASA, AAA and CAGA, and work regularly in furniture and decorative arts.
What charitable donation clients say we are known for
Across 11 published charitable donation appraisal reviews, every one from a client who paid AppraiseItNow for an appraisal, the three things they raise most often are that they would hire us again, how much research is visible in the report, and our taking on items other appraisers turned down.
I’d have given them 10 stars if it were possible. After weeks of frustration awaiting four different appraisers to return my calls I stumbled across AppraiseItNow. They were quick to reply, incredibly helpful, knowledgeable, professional and managed to make it fairly simple. I highly recommend them!
Furniture Appraisal for Charitable Donation
AppraiseItNow Inc. is the best company I was lucky to find by accident. I was looking for someone to appraise cabinets for a donation to charity. I asked for multiple referrals, called multiple appraisal services, etc., and no one could help me. I found AppraiseItNow and from the moment I started working with them, they were wonderful! Joe guided me on what I needed to send him, what needed to be done and stayed in touch with me the entire time. Their customer service is OUTSTANDING and a welcome surprise in today’s world where good customer service is an anomaly! They returned an appraisal in a timely manner, it was clear, concise, cost-effective and exactly what I needed. They followed up with me multiple times to ensure that I received it and everything was OK. My CPA is also thrilled to have them as an accredited appraisal service he can use for other clients. I rarely leave reviews, but I could not pass giving them 5 stars and I’d give 10 if possible! THANK YOU JOE AND ALL AT APPRAISEITNOW!!👊🏼
Personal Property Appraisal for Charitable Donation
I asked AppraiseItNow to value a piece of sports memorabilia for purposes of a charitable donation. The item is rarely sold. Their research unearthed an important recent sale of a similar item, which I had not found previously, and which the first appraiser I used had not found either. AppraiseItNow was a good deal more expensive than the first service, but they crafted a detailed report in which I have much more confidence. They also helped me make sure the correct tax forms are used. Thank you!
Sports Memorabilia Appraisal for Charitable Donation
The AppraiseItNow team was great to work with. We hired them to appraise some precious metals for a charitable donation, and they were very helpful throughout the process. They provided clear instructions on how to submit photos and item descriptions, and delivered the appraisal and IRS forms within just a few days. Thank you so much, highly recommended!
Bullion Appraisal for Charitable Donation
By far the best of the best when it comes to an appraisal company. Truly professional owner who provides a detailed appraisal in an efficient and better than expected delivery time. A must GO TO Company. Would recommend to anyone.
Clothing Appraisal for Charitable Donation
It is with great pleasure that I give the highest score for their work. I needed antique book appraisals for my beloved but sadly departed wife's antique book collection she wanted to donate to the Remnant Trust. It was a true pleasure to work with this group.
Memorabilia & Collectibles Appraisal for Charitable Donation
When the claimed deduction for a single piece or a group of similar furniture items exceeds $5,000; Section B of Form 8283 must then be completed and signed by the appraiser. Below that level, donors may support fair market value themselves with comparable resale evidence, per IRS Publication 561.
Typically the thrift-store or consignment price, which for good-condition pieces often runs only 10 to 30 percent of original retail. A five-year-old $800 sofa, for example, generally supports roughly $80 to $200. Rules of thumb like half of purchase price overstate value and invite examiner adjustment down to documented resale ranges.
Generally no. Furniture must be in good used condition or better to support any deduction; the narrow exception is a single item claimed above $500 with a qualified appraisal attached. Some components, notably used mattresses, have almost no resale market and an effective fair market value of zero.
No. The IRS expects itemized descriptions, with each significant piece (sofa, dining set, bedroom set) carrying its own condition note and value, plus records of the donation date, the charity, and how fair market value was determined. Lump-sum furniture entries are a recurring audit weakness we help donors avoid.