How Much Can I Deduct for Donations? AGI Caps, Floors, and QCDs

If you itemize, you can generally deduct cash donations to public charities up to 60 percent of your adjusted gross income, and gifts of appreciated property such as stocks up to 30 percent. So the real answer to how much you can deduct for charitable donations depends on three things: whether you itemize at all, what you gave, and who received it. Starting with the 2026 tax year, a new rule also strips out the first 0.5 percent of your AGI from any deduction, which changes the math for smaller donors.

You Have to Itemize First

A charitable deduction only helps you if you itemize on Schedule A rather than take the standard deduction.¹ If your total itemizable expenses — donations, mortgage interest, state and local taxes, medical costs above the threshold — do not exceed the standard deduction for your filing status, your donations produce no tax benefit.

For the 2026 tax year, the standard deduction is:

Single filers: $16,100
Married filing jointly: $32,200
Head of household: $24,150

Many taxpayers, especially those without a mortgage, find the standard deduction beats their itemizable expenses.² Donations still support the cause, but they do not reduce your tax bill.

The 0.5 Percent AGI Floor Beginning in 2026

Even for itemizers, tax year 2026 introduces a floor: you can only deduct the portion of your charitable giving that exceeds 0.5 percent of your AGI.³ The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed on July 4, 2025, added this rule.

The arithmetic is straightforward. With $100,000 of AGI, the floor is $500. Donate $3,000 during the year and $2,500 is deductible. Donate $400 and nothing is deductible, because your total never clears the threshold. The floor comes off the top before the percentage ceilings below apply.

This hits moderate donors hardest. If you typically give a few hundred dollars a year, those contributions may no longer produce any tax benefit even if you itemize.

How Much You Can Deduct by Type of Gift

Once you clear the floor, your deduction is capped at a percentage of AGI. The cap depends on what you gave and who received it. Your AGI is on line 11 of Form 1040.⁴

Cash to Public Charities: 60 Percent of AGI

Cash gifts — checks, credit card charges, electronic transfers — to public charities such as churches, food banks, nonprofit hospitals, and schools are deductible up to 60 percent of AGI.¹ This is the most generous limit and was made permanent under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. On $150,000 of AGI, that is up to $90,000 in cash gifts.

Non-Cash Property to Public Charities: 50 or 30 Percent

Non-cash property that is not long-term capital gain property — inventory, artwork you created, property held less than a year — falls under a 50 percent limit when given to a public charity.⁵ Appreciated capital gain property held longer than one year, such as stocks or real estate that has gone up in value, is limited to 30 percent of AGI.¹ Giving appreciated securities at full fair market value also lets you skip capital gains tax on the appreciation, which is why this method is often more efficient than selling and donating the cash.

Private Foundations: 30 or 20 Percent

Gifts to private nonoperating foundations and certain other non-public-charity organizations are tighter. Cash is capped at 30 percent of AGI; appreciated capital gain property is capped at 20 percent.¹

What Happens if You Give More Than the Cap

Give more than the applicable AGI ceiling in a year and the excess carries forward for up to five additional tax years.⁵ Carryovers apply after current-year contributions and remain subject to the same percentage limits. Anything still unused after five years is lost.

A Reduced Benefit at the Top Bracket

Beginning in 2026, taxpayers in the 37 percent federal bracket see their itemized deductions, including charitable gifts, capped at a 35 percent tax-savings rate. A $10,000 donation saves $3,500 rather than $3,700.

Payments That Look Charitable but Aren’t Deductible

Several common payments feel like giving but produce no deduction:¹

Raffle, bingo, and lottery tickets, which the IRS treats as games of chance
Tuition paid to parochial schools or nonprofit daycare, even if labeled a donation
The value of your time or services as a volunteer
Blood donations
Dues to social or sports clubs, lodges, civic leagues, and homeowners’ associations
Direct gifts to individuals, including cash to a member of the clergy for personal use
Political contributions to parties, campaigns, or candidates
Appraisal fees for donated property (though these may qualify elsewhere as a miscellaneous expense)

Gifts to foreign charities are generally not deductible either, aside from limited exceptions under tax treaties with Canada, Mexico, and Israel.¹ The recipient generally needs to be a U.S. organization described in section 170(c), most commonly a 501(c)(3). Before giving, you can confirm eligibility with the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search.⁶

When You Get Something in Return

If a donation comes with a benefit — a gala dinner, event tickets, merchandise — your deduction is only the amount above the fair market value of what you received.⁷ Pay $500 for a fundraising dinner worth $75 and your deductible amount is $425.

Any charity receiving a quid pro quo contribution over $75 must give you a written disclosure with a good-faith estimate of the value you received.⁸ Keep it with your records.

Putting a Dollar Amount on Non-Cash Gifts

Donated property is valued at fair market value on the date of the gift — what a willing buyer and willing seller would agree to, both reasonably informed.⁹ For used clothing and household goods, thrift-shop and consignment prices are a reasonable benchmark, and these items must be in good used condition or better to be deductible at all.¹ Used items are almost always worth far less than the original purchase price.

Property Worth More Than $5,000

Claim more than $5,000 for a single item or group of similar items and you need a qualified appraisal.¹⁰ The appraiser must hold a recognized designation or have at least two years of relevant valuation experience, must appraise regularly for pay, and must follow the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. The fee cannot be based on a percentage of the appraised value. The charity signs Part V of Form 8283 to acknowledge receipt, but that signature is not an endorsement of your valuation.¹¹

Vehicles

Donate a car, boat, or airplane worth more than $500 and your deduction is generally limited to the gross proceeds the charity gets when it sells the vehicle, not the Kelley Blue Book number.¹² You can claim full fair market value only if the charity actually uses the vehicle in its work (a van used to deliver meals, for example) or gives it to a needy individual as part of its mission.¹ The charity has to send you Form 1098-C within 30 days.

Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency, stablecoins, and NFTs are treated as property. Held more than a year and appreciated, they can be donated at full fair market value with no capital gains tax, subject to the 30 percent AGI limit for capital gain property. Claim more than $5,000 and you need a qualified appraisal and Section B of Form 8283.¹⁰ Publicly traded securities skip the appraisal requirement, but most cryptocurrency does not qualify for that exception.¹³

If You’re 70½ or Older: Qualified Charitable Distributions

A qualified charitable distribution lets someone 70½ or older transfer money directly from a traditional IRA to an eligible charity without the distribution counting as taxable income.¹⁴ The 2026 QCD limit is $111,000 per person, with a one-time election allowing up to $55,000 to certain split-interest entities like charitable remainder trusts.¹⁵

A QCD lowers AGI rather than working as an itemized deduction, so it produces a tax benefit even if you take the standard deduction. Lower AGI can also reduce income-related Medicare surcharges and preserve eligibility for phase-out-sensitive credits, and the QCD can count toward your required minimum distribution. The money has to move directly from the IRA custodian to the charity; withdrawing first and then writing a check does not qualify.

Documentation That Backs Up the Deduction

Every donation needs proof, and the requirements scale with the size of the gift.

For any cash contribution, keep a bank record, canceled check, credit card statement, or receipt showing the charity’s name, date, and amount.¹ For any single contribution of $250 or more, you also need a written acknowledgment from the charity, obtained by the time you file, stating the amount and whether you received anything in return.⁵ Without it, the IRS can disallow the deduction outright.

If total non-cash donations for the year exceed $500, file Form 8283 with your return, showing the date, a description, how you valued the property, and (for property held less than 12 months) your cost.¹⁶ For any item or group over $5,000, you also need Section B of Form 8283 and the qualified appraisal.¹⁰ One narrow exception: a single article of clothing or household item not in good used condition needs Section B and an appraisal if you claim more than $500 for it.

Keep everything — receipts, acknowledgment letters, appraisals, valuation notes — for at least three years after the filing deadline, which matches the standard IRS audit window.¹⁷ If income is underreported by more than 25 percent, the IRS gets six years, so hold records longer if your return is complex.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526, Charitable Contributions
2
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 170 – Charitable, Etc., Contributions and Gifts
4
Internal Revenue Service. Adjusted Gross Income
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 170 – Charitable, Etc., Contributions and Gifts
6
Internal Revenue Service. Tax Exempt Organization Search
7
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 506, Charitable Contributions
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 6115 – Disclosure Related to Quid Pro Quo Contributions
9
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 561, Determining the Value of Donated Property
10
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8283
11
Internal Revenue Service. Charitable Organizations – Substantiating Noncash Contributions
12
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Guidance Explains Rules for Vehicle Donations
13
Internal Revenue Service. Frequently Asked Questions on Virtual Currency Transactions
14
Internal Revenue Service. Important Charitable Giving Reminders for Taxpayers
15
Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Amounts Relating to Retirement Plans and IRAs
16
Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions
17
Internal Revenue Service. How Long Should I Keep Records