Charitable contributions deduction

Money or property you give to a qualified charity reduces your taxable income. How much depends on whether you itemize.

If you take the standard deduction, for 2026 you can also deduct cash gifts up to $1,000 ($2,000 married filing jointly). The gift has to go to a public charity. Gifts to a donor-advised fund or a private foundation do not count.

If you itemize, your gifts go on Schedule A, but only the amount above 0.5% of your adjusted gross income counts. Cash gifts are capped at 60% of AGI, and anything over the cap carries forward for up to five years. In the 37% bracket the deduction is worth at most 35 cents per dollar given, not 37.

Stock that has gone up is worth more to give than cash. Donate shares you have held more than a year and you deduct the full market value, up to 30% of AGI, and nobody pays capital gains tax on the growth. Transfer the shares to the charity directly. Selling first and giving the cash triggers the gain.

At 70 1/2 or older you can also make a qualified charitable distribution. It goes straight from your traditional IRA to the charity, never shows up in your income, and counts toward your required minimum distribution. You do not need to itemize. The 2026 cap is $111,000 per person.

The charity usually has to be a 501(c)(3) organization or a church. Schools, hospitals, food banks, and most nonprofits qualify. Political campaigns, individuals, and most foreign organizations do not. If you are not sure, look the organization up in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search.

Itemizing only pays if your total itemized deductions beat the standard deduction, which is $16,100 for single filers and $32,200 for joint filers. Mortgage interest, state and local taxes, and medical expenses above 7.5% of AGI count toward that total.

$100,000 AGI, single, itemizing, $5,000 of cash gifts. The floor is 0.5% of $100,000, or $500. The deduction is $5,000 minus $500, or $4,500. At the 22% rate that saves about $990.

Give the same $5,000 without itemizing and the deduction is $1,000, worth about $220 at 22%.

• Itemizers: Schedule A, Gifts to Charity section (line 11 for cash, line 12 for property). The 0.5% floor comes off there.
• Standard deduction: You claim the $1,000 or $2,000 on Form 1040 without filing Schedule A.
• Non-cash gifts over $500: Attach Form 8283. Anything over $5,000 also needs a qualified appraisal, except publicly traded stock.
• Qualified charitable distributions: Reported with your IRA distributions on Form 1040, lines 4a and 4b, not on Schedule A.

Keep proof for every gift. A bank record or receipt covers cash gifts under $250. For $250 or more you need a written acknowledgment from the charity that states the amount and whether you received anything in return. Get it before you file.