Here are several suggestions to ensure your donations pass IRS standards and help reduce your taxable income.
Confirm a charity's eligibility. Do this throughout the year, before you make your charitable donation. You can quickly confirm eligibility by checking the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search at irs.gov. And remember, just because an organization qualified last year does not mean it qualifies this year. Too many organizations forget to submit their annual IRS filing and lose their charitable status.
Understand the new tax world for contributions. Remember this year you can donate $1,000 in cash contributions ($2,000 for joint filers) without itemizing deductions. If you have further contributions as an itemized deduction, these now have a 0.5% Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) floor. The value of itemized charitable contributions is capped at 35%.
Spot check itemize deduction qualification. You'll need to itemize deductions to claim charitable contributions on Schedule A. The thresholds for itemizing in 2026 are $16,100 for single taxpayers and $32,200 if married. If your total deductions fall short of the thresholds, consider bundling next years' contributions into this year to maximize your itemized deductions. And remember to account for the 0.5% reduction in you gifts.
Get receipts for all donations. You must keep receipts for every deductible donation. While receipts aren’t submitted with your tax return, you’ll need them in case of an IRS audit.
Make your contributions by December 31st. For 2026, contributions must be completed by December 31. Donations made using a credit card by the deadline are deductible for 2026, even if you pay off the card the following year. Similarly, checks written by December 31 are deductible for 2026, even if cashed in January 2027.
Document noncash donations carefully. Noncash contributions, such as clothing or other household items, are deductible if they’re in good or better condition. The responsibility for valuing these items falls on you, though some charities offer valuation guides to help with this. Keep a detailed list of your donations and take photos of the items. If you think your noncash donations will exceed $5,000 for the year, you will need to separate your noncash items into categories. Remember to get a receipt from the charity. For any category of donations over $5,000, an independent appraisal is required.
Understand vehicle donations. If you wish to donate a vehicle (car, truck, boat, motorcycle, etc.) and want to maximize the value of your donation, donate the vehicle to a charity that will use it rather than simply resell it. Otherwise, your deduction is generally limited to the amount the charity receives when it sells the vehicle.
Record your mileage. If you drive for charitable activities, keep a log. You can deduct 14 cents per mile. Typical activities include delivering meals, volunteering, or transporting people to charity events.
Consider donating investments. One of the best tax deals is donating appreciated long-term gain investments to your favorite charity. Not only do you receive a deduction for the fair market value of the appreciated gift, but you also avoid paying tax on the capital gain. Further, if you are age 70½ or older, you can contribute directly from your IRA to a charity and avoid paying income taxes on the distribution.
The number of taxpayers itemizing charitable donations may be smaller, but the value of those deductions is greater when bundling is involved. Because of this, it's important to get the details right and avoid the hassle of the IRS questioning your good intentions.
Reach out if you would like to discuss how any of this information relates to you and your particular situation.