Authored by Javier Simon via The Epoch Times(emphasis ours),
When you donate to qualified charitable organizations under the IRS, you could get some tax benefits in the form of charitable deductions.
But tax laws are constantlychanging, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) has brought some major changes to charitable deductions beginning in tax year 2026. These shifts affect both itemizers and those who take the standard deduction.
Normally, charitable deductions mostly benefit those who itemize their deductions. But beginning in tax year 2026, those who take the standard deduction can also deductup to $1,000 worth of cash giftsto qualified operating charities if filing singleor $2,000 if married and filing jointly.
However,this particular deduction doesn’t apply tocontributionsto donor-advised funds.
For tax year 2026, the standard deduction increased to $16,100 for single filers and $32,200 for married couples filing jointly. These figures will be adjusted annually for inflation.
These are historically high standard deduction levels made permanent through the OBBBA, so you may want to check if your total itemized deductions exceed the standard deduction.
For tax year 2026 and on, itemizers can only deduct the portion of their total donations that exceed 0.5 percent of their adjusted gross income (AGI).
So, if your AGI is $100,000, only the value of donations above $500 would be deductible. That $500 is the “floor.” For example, if an individual with an AGI of $100,000 donated $700 to an IRS-qualified children’s hospital, only $200 would be deductible ($700 – $500 = $200).
In other words, smaller donations may not generate as robust a tax benefit—or any at all in some cases. To get around this, many advisers recommend “bunching” several years of planned donations in one tax year to clear the floor.
Source: ZeroHedge News
