There are important charitable giving changes in 2026 that are worth keeping in mind. It might make sense to give more right now, before the end of 2025.
For the 2025 tax year, charitable giving rules are largely the same. If you itemize in 2025, charitable contributions have these limits:
- Cash donations: Deduct up to 60% of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) for gifts to qualified public charities (including Donor-Advised Funds).
- Donating appreciated assets (held 1+ years): Deduct up to 30% of AGI.
- Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs): If you’re 70½ or older, you can give up to $108,000 per person (2025) directly from your IRA — and those gifts do not count as taxable income and can satisfy Required Minimum Distributions.
Starting in 2026, if you itemize, you’ll only be able to deduct charitable giving amounts over 0.5% of your AGI. For example, if your AGI is $200,000, the first $1,000 of your charitable gifts will not be deductible.
Ideas for Planning Your Year-end and 2026 Giving
- Accelerate giving into 2025: If you itemize and expect your marginal rate >= 37%, donating before year-end 2025 yields a larger deduction benefit and avoids the 0.5% floor and 35% cap.
- Bundle or “bunch” gifts: If your annual giving isn’t large enough to surpass the 0.5% AGI floor, consider bunching multiple years’ donations into a single year so that the deduction clears the threshold.
- Leverage donor-advised funds (DAFs) before 2026: Contributions to DAFs made by December 31, 2025, are fully deductible under current rules. Beginning 2026, DAF gifts don’t qualify for the new non-itemizer deduction and still face itemizer floors.
- Use appreciated assets strategically: Rules for donating stock or other appreciated property remain unchanged (30% AGI limit when itemizing), so gifting long-held appreciated shares continues to eliminate capital gains and provide a deduction.
- Plan cash vs non-cash mix: Because the new $1000/$2000 “above-the-line” deduction applies only to cash gifts.
As always, thank you for your support of Eden.
This is not intended to be advice. Please consult your tax professional to determine what’s best for your situation.