Yes. Starting with the 2026 tax year, you can deduct charitable contributions without itemizing, thanks to a new above-the-line deduction created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Standard-deduction filers can write off up to $1,000 in cash donations if single, or up to $2,000 if married filing jointly. Retirees aged 70½ and older have a second route through a Qualified Charitable Distribution from an IRA, which keeps the donated amount out of taxable income entirely regardless of how they file.
The New Above-the-Line Charitable Deduction
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in July 2025, created a permanent above-the-line deduction for charitable giving. It applies to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025, so 2026 returns are the first ones to use it.
“Above-the-line” means the deduction reduces your adjusted gross income directly, before you choose between the standard deduction and itemizing. You keep your full standard deduction and stack the charitable write-off on top of it. The caps:
- Up to $1,000 for single filers and married filing separately
- Up to $2,000 for married couples filing jointly
This is the first permanent federal charitable deduction available to non-itemizers. A similar provision existed in 2020 and 2021 under the CARES Act, but it capped at $300 per person and expired. The new deduction is written into the tax code without a sunset date.
What Qualifies as a Deductible Donation
The deduction is for cash contributions. The earlier CARES Act version was limited to cash donations to operating public charities and specifically excluded contributions to donor-advised funds and private foundations. The new 2026 rules are structured similarly, though the specifics on which organizations and contribution types qualify are being spelled out in IRS guidance.
Before you claim it, check IRS.gov/OBBB for the current list of qualifying organizations and contribution types.1Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526 (2025), Charitable Contributions If you’re routing money through a donor-advised fund or giving to a private foundation, expect that those contributions do not count toward this deduction based on the CARES Act precedent.
Non-cash gifts, like clothing, household goods, appreciated stock, and vehicles, are not covered by the non-itemizer deduction. Deducting those still requires itemizing on Schedule A.
Records You Still Need
Taking the above-the-line deduction doesn’t get you out of the IRS’s substantiation rules. The paperwork burden is tied to the size of each contribution, not to whether you itemize.
For any cash donation, keep a bank record, canceled check, or a receipt from the charity showing the organization’s name, the date, and the amount. Cash dropped in a collection plate without a receipt isn’t deductible.
For any single contribution of $250 or more, you need a written acknowledgment from the charity. It has to include the organization’s name, the amount, and a statement about whether the charity gave you anything in return. A bank statement alone won’t cut it at this level.2Internal Revenue Service. Charitable Contributions: Written Acknowledgments
Qualified Charitable Distributions if You’re 70½ or Older
Retirees have a separate and often better path. If you’re 70½ or older with a traditional IRA, you can make a Qualified Charitable Distribution: your IRA custodian sends money directly to a qualified charity, and the amount is excluded from your gross income entirely. You don’t take a deduction because the income never lands on your return.
For 2026, the annual QCD limit is $111,000 per person, up from $108,000 in 2025 under the SECURE 2.0 Act’s inflation indexing.3IRS.gov. 2026 Amounts Relating to Retirement Plans and IRAs, as Adjusted This works whether you itemize or take the standard deduction. A QCD also counts toward your Required Minimum Distribution for the year.4Internal Revenue Service. Important Charitable Giving Reminders for Taxpayers Satisfying the RMD without adding to taxable income can also mean smaller Medicare premiums and less of your Social Security benefits subject to tax.p>
The transfer has to go directly from your IRA custodian to the charity. If the check passes through your personal account first, it’s a taxable distribution, not a QCD. Your IRA administrator can issue a check payable to the charity and give it to you to deliver, which still qualifies.
Because the QCD limit is far higher than the new $1,000/$2,000 above-the-line cap, retirees who give any meaningful amount from their IRAs will usually come out ahead using a QCD rather than the non-itemizer deduction.
When Itemizing Beats the Non-Itemizer Deduction
The above-the-line deduction is capped, and it only covers cash. If you give more than $1,000 (single) or $2,000 (joint) in a year, or if you’re donating appreciated stock, a vehicle, or other non-cash property, the potential deduction from itemizing can be much larger. For cash contributions to public charities, itemizers can deduct up to 60% of AGI. Appreciated property donations carry a 30% of AGI ceiling.1Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526 (2025), Charitable Contributions
Itemizing is worth the effort only when your total qualifying expenses (state and local taxes, mortgage interest, medical costs above 7.5% of AGI, and charitable gifts) exceed the standard deduction. For 2026, the standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married filing jointly, and $24,150 for heads of household.5Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026, Including Amendments From the One, Big, Beautiful Bill The One Big Beautiful Bill also raised the state and local tax deduction cap from $10,000 to $40,400, which pushes more taxpayers, particularly those in high-tax states, back over the itemizing threshold. If your SALT deduction alone climbs significantly, run the numbers both ways before defaulting to the standard deduction.
One more wrinkle for itemizers in 2026: a new 0.5% AGI floor on charitable contributions. You can only deduct the portion of your total giving that exceeds 0.5% of your AGI.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 170 – Charitable, Etc., Contributions and Gifts For a couple with $200,000 in AGI, the first $1,000 of donations produces no itemized deduction. The floor doesn’t apply to the above-the-line deduction, which is a small point in favor of the non-itemizer route for smaller givers.
For most standard-deduction filers who give modest cash amounts each year, the new above-the-line deduction is exactly what it looks like: a straightforward write-off up to the cap, with no need to itemize and no floor to clear.