Is theft a felony?

Theft is taking someone else's property without their consent, with the intent to keep it or deprive the owner of it. States use different names for it, including theft, larceny and stealing.^1,2,3

Texas defines theft as unlawfully appropriating property with intent to deprive the owner of it. New York defines larceny as wrongfully taking, obtaining or withholding property with intent to deprive another of it. Illinois adds that theft can also mean obtaining property by deception or by threat, or knowingly holding stolen property.

Shoplifting is stealing from a store. Some states, such as California and Pennsylvania, have a separate shoplifting or retail theft law. Others, such as Texas, treat it as ordinary theft.^1,4,5

Texas law folds shoplifting into its single theft offense. California defines shoplifting as entering an open store with intent to steal property worth $950 or less. Pennsylvania's retail theft law covers taking store merchandise and grades the offense by value and by how many times a person has been convicted.

Taking property you were trusted to hold can also be theft. New York and Texas count embezzlement as larceny or theft, so the same value rules apply.^1,2

New York's larceny definition lists embezzlement and obtaining property by false pretenses among the ways to commit larceny. Texas says its theft offense replaced the older offenses of embezzlement, swindling, extortion and receiving stolen property.

Stealing property of low value is generally a misdemeanor. Many states call it petty theft or petit larceny.^6,7,8

California treats theft of $950 or less as petty theft, punished as a misdemeanor. New York makes petit larceny a class A misdemeanor, with no dollar line in that section. Virginia makes petit larceny, meaning goods worth less than $1,000, a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Some states split misdemeanor theft into several levels by dollar value. Texas has three levels, from a Class C misdemeanor for property worth under $100 to a Class A misdemeanor for $750 up to $2,500.^1,9

Pennsylvania makes theft of $2,000 or less a first-degree misdemeanor unless another rule makes it a felony. If the property was not taken from a person, by threat or in breach of a fiduciary duty, it drops to a second-degree misdemeanor from $50 up to $200 and a third-degree misdemeanor under $50.

The main way theft becomes a felony is by value. Each state sets its own dollar line. Among the eight states below, it runs from over $500 in Illinois to $2,500 in Texas.^1,3,10,11

The lines are $500 in Illinois, $750 in Florida, $950 in California, $1,000 in New York, Ohio and Virginia, $2,000 in Pennsylvania and $2,500 in Texas. Higher values bring higher felony grades. A separate table on this site covers all 50 states.

A person with earlier theft convictions can be charged with a felony for stealing something small. Florida, Texas, Illinois and California all have rules like this.^1,3,12,13

Florida makes petit theft a third-degree felony after two or more earlier theft convictions. Texas makes theft under $2,500 a state jail felony after two or more earlier theft convictions. Illinois makes low-value theft a Class 4 felony after a prior conviction for theft and certain related crimes. California allows a jail term of up to a year or a felony jail sentence after two or more prior convictions for listed offenses.

In many states, stealing certain things is a felony no matter what they are worth. Common examples are firearms and property taken from a person's body or pocket.^1,6,9,10,11

Texas makes theft of a firearm or property taken from another person a state jail felony. New York makes it a class E felony to take property from a person, to steal a firearm, or to steal a credit or debit card. California treats theft of a firearm as grand theft at any value. Its law also lists theft of a car or from a person as grand theft, but under Penal Code section 490.2 those thefts are petty theft when the value is $950 or less. Pennsylvania makes theft of a firearm a second-degree felony.

Several small thefts can be added together to reach the felony line. Pennsylvania and New York both allow this for thefts that are part of one scheme.^5,9,11

Pennsylvania lets prosecutors add up amounts from one scheme or course of conduct, even from different victims or stores. New York allows retail goods stolen under a common scheme to be added up, and it is a felony when the total exceeds $1,000.

Who the victim is can raise the grade. In Texas, theft from an elderly person moves the offense up to the next higher category. In Illinois, theft by deception of $5,000 or more from someone 60 or older or a person with a disability is a Class 2 felony.^1,3,14

Texas also raises the grade when a public servant steals property held because of that job. Ohio has a separate level of theft from a person in a protected class, such as an elderly person or a disabled adult.

Texas

Texas: theft under $2,500 is a Class C, B or A misdemeanor, depending on value. At $2,500 or more it is a state jail felony.¹

A state jail felony covers $2,500 up to $30,000. Above that it is a third-degree felony at $30,000 up to $150,000, a second-degree felony at $150,000 up to $300,000, and a first-degree felony at $300,000 or more. Theft of a firearm is a state jail felony at any value.

Florida

Florida: theft of property worth $750 or more is grand theft, a third-degree felony. Theft under $750 is usually petit theft, a misdemeanor.¹⁵

Petit theft of $100 up to $750 is a first-degree misdemeanor, and petit theft under $100 is a second-degree misdemeanor, or first-degree with one earlier theft conviction. Theft from a home or the unenclosed area around it is graded higher: $40 up to $750 is grand theft, a third-degree felony, and under $40 is a first-degree misdemeanor. Grand theft is a second-degree felony at $20,000 up to $100,000 and a first-degree felony at $100,000 or more. A person with two or more earlier theft convictions faces a third-degree felony even for petit theft.

California

California: theft of $950 or less is petty theft, a misdemeanor. Theft over $950 is grand theft, which can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony.^6,10,16,17

Grand theft is punishable by up to one year in county jail or by a county jail sentence under Penal Code section 1170(h), which California law counts as a felony sentence. Under Penal Code section 17, a court or prosecutor can treat that kind of offense as a misdemeanor. Theft of a firearm is punished by a state prison term instead.

New York

New York: petit larceny is a class A misdemeanor. Grand larceny in the fourth degree, where the property is worth over $1,000, is a class E felony.^7,11

Section 155.30 also makes theft of a firearm, a credit or debit card, or property taken from a person a class E felony at any value.

Illinois

Illinois: theft of property worth $500 or less, not taken from a person, is a Class A misdemeanor. Over $500 up to $10,000 it is a Class 3 felony.³

Theft from a person is a Class 3 felony at any value up to $10,000. Over $10,000 up to $100,000 it is a Class 2 felony, and over $100,000 up to $500,000 it is a Class 1 felony. Low-value theft is a Class 4 felony after a prior theft conviction, or if it happened in a school or place of worship or involved government property.

Ohio

Ohio: theft is a first-degree misdemeanor unless the value reaches $1,000. From $1,000 up to $7,500 it is a fifth-degree felony.¹⁴

From $7,500 up to $150,000 it is grand theft, a fourth-degree felony. From $150,000 up to $750,000 it is aggravated theft, a third-degree felony. Theft of some listed property is a fifth-degree felony at any value.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania: theft of up to $2,000 is a misdemeanor, graded third, second or first degree by value. It becomes a third-degree felony when the amount exceeds $2,000.⁹

Theft of an automobile, motorcycle or other motor vehicle is a third-degree felony at any value. Theft of a firearm is a second-degree felony. Amounts of $100,000 up to $500,000 are second-degree felonies, and $500,000 or more is a first-degree felony.

Virginia

Virginia: stealing goods worth less than $1,000 is petit larceny, a Class 1 misdemeanor. Stealing $1,000 or more is grand larceny, a felony.^8,18,19

Grand larceny also covers taking $5 or more from a person and taking any firearm. Virginia does not use felony classes for it. It is punishable by 1 to 20 years in a state correctional facility, or in the court's or jury's discretion by up to 12 months in jail, a fine of up to $2,500, or both. Virginia law defines a felony as an offense punishable by confinement in a state correctional facility.