In the title compounds, 4-carboxyanilinium (2R,3R)-tartrate, C(7)H(8)NO(2)+.C(4)H(5)O(6)-, (I), and 4-aminobenzoic acid, C(7)H(7)NO(2), (II), the carboxyl planes of the 4-carboxyanilinium cations/4-aminobenzoic acid are twisted from the aromatic plane. In (I), the characteristic head-to-tail interactions are observed through the tartrate anions, forming two C2(2)(7) chain motifs propagating parallel to the a and c axes of the unit cell. Also, the tartrate anions are connected through two primary C1(1)(6) and C1(1)(7) chain motifs, leading to a secondary R4(4)(22) ring motif. In (II), head-to-tail interaction is seen through a discrete D1(1)(2) motif and carboxyl group dimerization is observed through centrosymmetrically related R2(2)(8) motifs around the inversion centres of the unit cell. The crystal structures of both compounds are stabilized by intricate three-dimensional hydrogen-bonding networks. Alternate hydrophobic and hydrophilic layers are observed in (I) as a result of a column-like arrangement of the anions and the aromatic rings of the cations.