Charitable Donations

The IRS has put out a couple of notices over the past couple of weeks about charitable donations, so there must be something brewing about these and how they affect your tax picture. The most obvious change is that starting with tax year 2026 there can be a deduction available for these donations without having to itemize your deductions. This then is a good time to think about these transactions while there is still time to potentially put them to use next tax season.

The first big note then is just being aware that such donations can benefit you to the tune of $1,000 for a single taxpayer and $2,000 for a married couple. If you have been taking the standard deduction for years, you may not be in the habit of saving receipts for charitable donations, so you should start doing that, for even if it’s a smaller amount, it will still help lower your tax obligation.

There are some things to remember when it comes to this, though, and one of the biggest may be knowing what qualifies as a charitable contribution. All donations to legitimate charitable organizations are pretty much good to go. Please note, though, that there are places to send your money that do not qualify. The most obvious are these are many political donations and campaigns set up on sites like GoFundMe, which may be for charitable causes, but the money is not going to actual charitable organizations, they are not legitimate to claim on a tax return.

For those that are legitimate, keep proof of all donations you make during the year and be sure that you have written acknowledgement for any donation larger than $250.

If this is something that may play a big part in your tax return, please be sure to look into the information that the IRS is releasing and do not hesitate to reach out to us if you it still does not answer your questions.  These and all tips from the IRS are available on irs.gov/newsroom/irs-tax-tips.

Warmly,

Josh Bousquet
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