How much can you deduct in 2026?
The rules changed on January 1. Four numbers now decide what your giving is worth, whether you itemize or not.
Rules in the abstract tell you nothing. So this page follows one household through every rule and totals their file at the end. Halfway down, a calculator reruns the whole page on your numbers.
The 2026 limits, at a glanceStatute-sourced
First: do you itemize?
Case file·At the forkEverything below depends on this one answer. About nine in ten American households do not itemize, and until this year their giving earned them nothing on their return. Pick your door. Not sure which is yours? The calculator further down decides it from four inputs.
You take the standard deduction
$2,000 new, per joint return
For the first time since 2021, your cash gifts count, on top of the standard deduction. Keep your receipts; the usual records rules apply.
Your one rule → ABOUT 1 OF 10 Door twoYou itemize on Schedule A
0.5% of AGI, the new floor
Your ceilings stay at 60% and 30% of income. But a floor now runs under every gift, and it changes how smart households time their giving.
Your three rules →Your gifts finally count. One rule decides which ones.
The new deduction sits on top of your standard deduction: up to $1,000 on a single return, $2,000 filing jointly. It is permanent law, and there is no income phase-out.
It is also narrow: the gift must be cash, given directly to a public charity.
Age 65 or older? A separate deduction of up to $6,000 per person (tax years 2025 through 2028) stacks on top at either door. It shrinks above $75,000 of income single / $150,000 joint, and is not available to married taxpayers filing separately.
The one rule · what qualifies§170(p)
$10,000 given, $2,000 earns a deduction. The other $8,000 earns nothing here. The flip below fixes that, and it works even if this is your door. +$2,000
The floor takes the first $1,000. Every single year.
Starting in 2026, only giving above 0.5% of your adjusted gross income is deductible. Give steadily every year and the floor cuts every year; the loyal, modest donor is exactly who it hits hardest.
Carryforwards from before 2026 are not subject to it. And there is a legal way around it entirely: the flip, two rules down this page.
The household's $10,000 gift, 2026§170(b)(1)(I)
The ceilings still stand at 60% and 30%. At $10,000 a year, they are nowhere near you.
Cash gifts to public charities stop counting above 60% of AGI (now permanent law); appreciated stock above 30% of AGI. Give past a ceiling and the excess carries forward up to five years. Here is the household's whole ruler:
The ceilings, drawn to scale§170(b)(1)(C) · (G)
Same generosity. One timing change. $10,800 more deducted.
Here is the flip the new floor creates. The household plans $30,000 of giving over three years. Given annually, itemizing never beats their standard deduction, and the floor bites every year. Given all at once, the math flips.
A donor-advised fund makes this practical: take the whole deduction in year one, grant the money to charities on your own schedule. The floor is cleared once instead of lost three times.
+$10,800More deducted · Same $30,000 given
Arithmetic, so you can check it: itemizing year = $20,000 other deductions + ($30,000 − $1,000 floor) = $49,000. Annual path = $32,200 standard + $2,000 non-itemizer line each year. At a 24% marginal rate the flip is worth about $2,600 in tax. Your numbers will differ; the mechanics will not.
The same math, on your numbers.
Four inputs, and the page reruns itself on your file: your door, your floor, and what bunching three years of giving would change.
Inputs · Tax year 2026
Enter your other Schedule A deductions as already capped (state and local taxes have their own cap). The senior deduction (65+, up to $6,000 per person) stacks on top of either door and does not change this comparison. Runs entirely in your browser.
Your resultDOOR ONE · STANDARD
+$10,800
More deducted over three years by bunching
Three years, settled. Then two upgrades most donors miss.
The receipt on the right is the bunched strategy from above, totalled. Below it, the two moves that beat even this plan:
Case file · Final2026 to 2028
vs $102,600 giving annually · every figure verifiable above
Whatever the strategy: the paperwork, by gift size
Bank record
No record, no deduction, at any amount.
Charity letter
Written acknowledgment, in hand before you file.
Appraisal + 8283 · B
Qualified appraisal; publicly traded securities exempt.
Your 2025 return runs on the old rules.
No floor applies, and there is no deduction without itemizing. The "$300 non-itemizer deduction" some sites still list expired after 2021; nothing replaces it until tax year 2026.
Can I deduct donations if I take the standard deduction?
In 2026, yes: up to $1,000 ($2,000 filing jointly) in cash gifts to public charities. On your 2025 return, no.
Do the 60% and 30% ceilings stack?
They interact. Cash uses the 60% ceiling and appreciated property the 30% ceiling, with the combined result governed by the Publication 526 worksheet. Giving both in one year? Run the worksheet or ask your preparer.
Is bunching allowed?
Yes. Choosing when to give is ordinary tax planning. You are changing the timing of your gifts, not their substance.
Can I deduct my volunteer time?
No. Time and services are never deductible; out-of-pocket costs directly tied to volunteering can be.
The math is done. The gift is the easy part.
TEEI is a public charity: cash gifts deduct up to 60% of AGI, stock at full market value up to 30%. Whatever you give, we send the written acknowledgment your file requires. Every time.