Tax-Deductible Donations: Rules for Giving to Charity

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What is a charitable donation?
Are charitable donations tax-deductible?
- Federal: $79 to $139. Free version available for Simple Form 1040 returns only.
- State: $0 to $69 per state.
- Expert help or full service filing is available with an upgrade to Live packages for a fee.
How tax-deductible donations work
1. Donate to a qualifying organization
- Examples of qualified institutions include religious organizations, the Red Cross, nonprofit educational agencies, museums, volunteer fire companies and organizations that maintain public parks
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- An organization can be nonprofit without 501(c)(3) status, which can make it tricky to ensure your charity of choice counts. You can verify an organization’s status with the IRS Exempt Organizations Select Check tool
.
2. Document your charitable contributions
- Cash or property donations worth more than $250: The IRS requires you to get a written letter of acknowledgment from the charity. It must include the amount of cash you donated, whether you received anything from the charity in exchange for your donation, and an estimate of the value of those goods and services. You must receive the letter of acknowledgment by the date you file your taxes for the year you made the contribution.
- If you deduct at least $500 worth of noncash donations: Fill out Form 8283 if you’ll deduct at least $500 in donated items. Additionally, you must attach an appraisal of your items to the form if they’re worth more than $5,000 total
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3. Don’t miss out on tax deductions for volunteering
- Expenses must be directly and solely connected to the volunteer work you did; not previously reimbursed; and not personal, living or family expenses.
- Your tax-deductible donations can include mileage you drive to charitable events and volunteer opportunities, or mileage you used to bring items to a donation site.
- You can either deduct your actual expenses using receipts for gas and similar costs, or you can take the standard mileage deduction.
- Keep your receipts if you plan to deduct your actual expenses; you may need them if you're audited.
4. Keep the deadline in mind
- Check: The day the check was mailed, not received.
- Credit card: The day the charge was made/processed, not when the bill was paid.
- Stock: The day the broker transfers the gift to the charity.
- Option: The day the option is exercised by the charity
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Claiming tax-deductible donations on your tax return
Filing status | Deduction amount |
---|---|
Single | $15,750. |
Married filing separately | $15,750. |
Head of household | $23,625. |
Married filing jointly | $31,500. |
Surviving spouses | $31,500. |
Can non-itemizers deduct charitable contributions on their taxes?
- People who don't itemize on their tax returns can deduct up to $1,000 (single) or $2,000 (married filing jointly) in charitable contributions. This means they can take the deduction for the 2026 tax year on the tax return that they will file in 2027.
- People who do itemize on their tax returns must donate an aggregate total of at least 0.5% of their adjusted gross income to charity in order to claim the deduction.
Article sources
- 1. Internal Revenue Service. IRS Publication 526. Accessed Jul 6, 2025.
- 2. Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526: Charitable Contributions. Accessed Jul 6, 2025.
- 3. Internal Revenue Service. IRS Exempt Organizations Select Check Tool . Accessed Jul 6, 2025.
- 4. Internal Revenue Service. Form 8283. Accessed Jul 6, 2025.
- 2. Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526: Charitable Contributions. Accessed Jul 6, 2025.