In most states, theft becomes a felony at a dollar amount somewhere between $1,000 and $2,500, though roughly a dozen states still use lower cutoffs — some as low as $200 or $300. There is no single national number. Each state legislature sets its own threshold, and the federal system uses separate figures for theft of government property and for stolen goods moved across state lines. The dollar amount that turns theft into a felony by state matters because a felony conviction brings prison time, lasting restrictions on civil rights, and a record that follows you for years.
How the Thresholds Break Down
State felony theft thresholds fall into a few rough bands. The largest group of states draws the line at $1,000 to $1,500: property worth that amount or more pushes the charge from misdemeanor to felony. A smaller group sets the cutoff higher, at $2,000 or $2,500. At the other end, about a dozen states still classify theft as a felony below $1,000, and a handful use figures as low as $200 or $300.
Legislatures adjust these numbers periodically, and several states changed theirs in 2024 and 2025. The practical consequence is that identical conduct — stealing a $750 item, for example — can be a misdemeanor in one state and a felony in the state next door. If you need the exact figure for your state, check your state’s current criminal code rather than relying on a general range.
How the Value of Stolen Property Is Measured
The dollar figure attached to a theft charge is based on fair market value: what a willing buyer would pay a willing seller for the item at the time it was taken. For new merchandise still on a store shelf, the price tag settles it. For used goods, courts look at the original purchase price, the item’s condition, and depreciation. A three-year-old laptop is not valued at what it cost new.
Rare or unique property — artwork, collectibles — sometimes requires an expert appraisal. The federal system defines value as face, par, or market value, whichever is greatest, and cost price at wholesale or retail, whichever is higher.1United States Department of Justice Archives. 1316 National Stolen Property Act – Value Defined The “whichever is greater” language keeps defendants from arguing for the lowest possible figure.
Multiple Items Can Be Added Together
Prosecutors do not have to charge each stolen item separately. When someone takes multiple items from the same victim or as part of a continuing scheme, the values can be aggregated. Five $400 thefts over a few weeks may feel like a string of minor incidents, but a prosecutor who ties them into one $2,000 charge pushes the case across the felony line in most states. What matters is whether the thefts are connected enough to count as one course of conduct rather than isolated events.
When Theft Is a Felony Regardless of Dollar Amount
Value is the most common route to a felony charge, but several other circumstances can produce a felony no matter how little the property is worth.
What Was Taken
Certain categories of property trigger felony charges automatically in most states. Firearms are the clearest example — public safety concerns override any dollar cutoff. Motor vehicles, controlled substances, and official government documents like wills and public records commonly fall into this category. Some states go further, treating theft of specific items such as stop signs or building-installed fire extinguishers as felonies on their own.
Who the Victim Was
Theft from elderly or disabled people often carries enhanced charges. In some states, financial exploitation of a person in one of those categories is a felony even when the dollar amount would otherwise be a misdemeanor.
Prior Convictions
A person with prior theft convictions can face a felony charge for conduct that would be a misdemeanor for a first-time offender. Repeat-offender enhancements exist in nearly every state.
How the Theft Happened
Taking property directly from another person — pickpocketing, purse-snatching — is often charged as a felony regardless of value, because the encounter carries a risk of escalation. Theft through deception, extortion, or abuse of a position of trust, such as an employee taking from a register, can also trigger enhanced charges.
What a Felony Theft Conviction Carries
Penalties scale with the value of the property but follow a general pattern. At the lowest felony tier, just above the state threshold, prison sentences typically run from one to five years. As the dollar amount climbs, so does the potential sentence, with high-value thefts carrying ten years or more.
Fines at the lowest felony tier commonly range from $5,000 to $10,000, with some states allowing $15,000 or more for higher-level offenses. Fines come on top of any prison sentence, not instead of it.
Restitution
Courts routinely order restitution — direct repayment to the victim for financial losses — separate from any fine paid to the state. In federal court, restitution can cover the value of stolen property, lost income, and other costs directly caused by the crime.2United States Department of Justice. Restitution Process A criminal restitution order does not bar the victim from also filing a civil lawsuit for additional damages.
Collateral Consequences
A felony theft record keeps costing after the sentence ends. Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment from possessing a firearm or ammunition — a lifetime bar unless rights are formally restored.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Voting rights depend on the state: a few never revoke them, about half automatically restore them upon release from prison, and the rest impose waiting periods, require completion of parole or probation, or strip the right indefinitely for certain offenses.4U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Collateral Consequences – The Crossroads of Punishment, Redemption, and the Effects on Communities Federal law disqualifies people convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment from federal jury service unless their civil rights have been restored, and roughly 30 states impose similar or stricter rules on state juries.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1865 – Qualifications for Jury Service Employment gets harder too. Background checks become a recurring obstacle, and industries like healthcare and education have legal prohibitions against hiring people with certain felony records. Licensing boards for professions from nursing to real estate can deny or revoke credentials based on a theft conviction.
When Federal Law Applies Instead
Federal thresholds only come into play in specific situations. Under 18 U.S.C. § 641, stealing federal government property worth more than $1,000 carries up to ten years in prison; at $1,000 or less, the maximum drops to one year.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 641 – Public Money, Property or Records Federal jurisdiction also attaches when stolen goods worth $5,000 or more are transported across state lines, under the National Stolen Property Act.1United States Department of Justice Archives. 1316 National Stolen Property Act – Value Defined A theft that begins as a state case can become a federal one if the property crosses a border.
How Long Prosecutors Have to File Charges
Every jurisdiction sets a statute of limitations after which charges can no longer be brought. For federal non-capital offenses, the general limit is five years from the date of the crime.7United States Department of Justice Archives. 650 Length of Limitations Period State limits for felony theft usually fall between three and six years, though some states allow longer for high-value thefts or fraud-based offenses. A few states start the clock when the victim discovers the theft rather than when it happened, which matters for embezzlement and schemes that take months or years to surface.
Petty Theft and Grand Theft
Many states still use the traditional labels petty theft (or petit larceny) and grand theft (or grand larceny) to mark the misdemeanor-felony split. The dividing line is the state’s felony threshold — the same dollar figures covered above. Petty theft typically brings fines, probation, community service, or a short jail sentence in a local facility, usually no more than six months to a year. Grand theft carries state prison time, larger fines, and the full weight of felony collateral consequences. In a state with a $1,000 threshold, that gap between a $999 theft and a $1,001 theft can mean the difference between a few months in county jail and years in state prison.
One quick boundary worth noting: robbery and burglary are separate crimes and are not governed by these theft thresholds. Robbery involves force or threat of force and is almost always a felony regardless of amount. Burglary is about unlawful entry with intent to commit a crime inside, and the intended crime does not have to be theft. If you were charged with robbery or burglary rather than theft, the dollar-amount rules on this page do not decide your case.