Taxpayers who do not itemize can deduct up to $1,000 of cash gifts to charity, starting with tax year 2026
A permanent provision of the federal tax law signed July 4, 2025, lets people who take the standard deduction deduct cash gifts to eligible charities, $2,000 for joint filers. Gifts to donor-advised funds and supporting organizations, and gifts of property, do not count.
Washington. People who take the standard deduction can deduct up to $1,000 of cash gifts to eligible charitable organizations for tax year 2026, or $2,000 for married couples filing jointly, under Section 70424 of the federal tax law signed July 4, 2025. The provision is permanent and applies to gifts made since Jan. 1. The rule is not new, but this is the first year-end giving season it covers. The Internal Revenue Service sets it out on its page on the law, which it calls the Working Families Tax Cuts, last updated Oct. 16.
Until now, taxpayers who did not itemize received no federal income tax benefit for cash gifts to charity, the IRS says. Most Americans claim the standard deduction, the tax preparation firm Liberty Tax noted in a Sept. 29 explainer, so most donors got no deduction for what they gave.
What counts
Only cash gifts made during the tax year to eligible charitable organizations qualify. Gifts to donor-advised funds and to supporting organizations do not, according to the IRS, and neither do noncash gifts such as clothing, stock or other property, or amounts carried over from earlier years.
Liberty Tax lists cash, checks, credit and debit cards, electronic transfers and payroll deductions as forms of cash giving. Gifts to individuals, personal fundraising accounts and political organizations are generally not deductible, the firm said, and a deduction lowers taxable income rather than the tax bill dollar for dollar.
Receipts and itemizers
The usual record rules apply. For any cash gift, whatever the amount, the donor must keep a bank record or a written communication from the charity giving its name, the amount and the date, the IRS says. For a gift of $250 or more, the donor needs a written acknowledgment from the charity, received at the time, that states the amount and whether the charity gave goods or services in return, with a good faith estimate of their value. When a gift buys something, such as admission to a banquet, only the part above its fair market value is deductible.
Itemizers face a new limit in 2026. Liberty Tax said their charitable deduction now covers only gifts above 0.5% of adjusted gross income, so a taxpayer with income of $100,000 deducts nothing for the first $500 given.
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