How Much Can I Donate to Charity? AGI Limits, Itemizing, and QCDs

For 2026, most taxpayers can deduct cash gifts to public charities up to 60% of adjusted gross income in a single tax year, with lower caps on other kinds of gifts. Those are the headline charitable donation tax deduction limits, but they only matter if you itemize on Schedule A instead of taking the standard deduction. Give more than the annual cap allows and the excess isn’t lost; it carries forward for up to five more years.¹

The AGI Percentage Caps by Type of Gift

The IRS caps your annual deduction as a percentage of adjusted gross income, and the percentage depends on what you gave and who received it. The One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act made the 60% cash ceiling permanent, so these figures apply for 2026 and forward.¹

Cash to public charities: up to 60% of AGI. On $100,000 of AGI, that’s up to $60,000 in deductible cash gifts.
Appreciated non-cash assets to public charities, such as stock that has grown in value: up to 30% of AGI.
Cash to private non-operating foundations: generally up to 30% of AGI.
Long-term capital gain property to private non-operating foundations: up to 20% of AGI.

Qualified farmers and ranchers (those whose farming income exceeds 50% of gross income) get a 100% AGI ceiling for certain conservation contributions.¹

Nothing stops you from giving more than the cap in a given year. The excess simply carries forward for up to five additional tax years, so a large 2026 gift that exceeds your limit can still reduce your taxes as late as 2031.¹

You Only Get the Deduction if You Itemize

This is where most giving plans quietly fall apart. Charitable contributions are an itemized deduction on Schedule A. If your total itemized deductions (charitable gifts, mortgage interest, state and local taxes, and qualifying medical costs) don’t exceed the standard deduction for your filing status, the standard deduction wins and your charitable giving produces no federal tax savings.

The 2026 standard deduction amounts are:²

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

Roughly 90% of taxpayers take the standard deduction. If your itemized total sits close to the threshold, one option is to concentrate two or more years of planned giving into a single tax year (often called bunching), push past the standard deduction that year, and take the standard deduction in the off years. A donor-advised fund lets you claim the full deduction in the bunching year while distributing grants to individual charities over time.³

Which Organizations Qualify

The percentage caps assume you’re giving to an eligible recipient. The main categories are 501(c)(3) organizations (religious, educational, scientific, literary, hospital, and public-safety groups), federal, state, local, and federally recognized tribal governments, and qualifying veterans’ organizations.⁴ Before writing a check, verify the organization on the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search.⁵

Several categories of “giving” never qualify, no matter the intent:

Money given directly to an individual in need, even routed through a charity that earmarks it for that person.⁶
Political contributions to candidates, PACs, and political organizations.
Payments to for-profit businesses, regardless of any social mission they describe.⁶

When the Deductible Amount Isn’t What You Paid

A few rules reduce what actually counts toward your cap, sometimes dramatically.

Quid pro quo gifts. If you receive something of value in return, you deduct only the excess. Pay $200 for a charity gala dinner worth $75 and the deductible portion is $125. Any organization receiving a contribution over $75 where the donor gets goods or services back must provide a written disclosure of what the donor received.⁷

Donated vehicles. If the charity sells the car, your deduction is generally capped at the actual sale price, not the figure you’d find in a used-car guide. Fair market value applies only in narrow cases: the charity uses the vehicle in its operations, makes significant repairs that increase its value, or gives it to a low-income individual at a deep discount as part of its mission.⁸

Clothing and household items. These must be in good used condition or better to be deductible at all. A single item worth more than $500 can still qualify in worse condition, but only with a qualified appraisal and a completed Section B of Form 8283.⁶

A Workaround for Retirees Who Don’t Itemize

If you’re at least 70½, a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) lets you transfer up to $111,000 directly from your IRA to a qualifying public charity in 2026. The transfer counts toward your required minimum distribution and is excluded from taxable income, so the tax benefit survives even if you take the standard deduction.⁹

The money must move directly from your IRA trustee to the charity. If it lands in your personal account first, even briefly, the distribution becomes taxable income and the QCD treatment is gone. Married couples with separate IRAs can each use the $111,000 limit, for a combined $222,000. You don’t also claim a charitable deduction for the amount, because the income exclusion is the tax benefit.

Documentation the IRS Expects

The paperwork requirements scale with the size and type of gift, and missing them can wipe out an otherwise valid deduction.

Every cash donation needs a written record: a bank statement, canceled check, or charity receipt showing the name and amount. For any single contribution of $250 or more, you need a contemporaneous written acknowledgment from the charity that states the amount and whether you received anything in return. Contemporaneous means you have it in hand by the earlier of your filing date or the return’s due date including extensions. Ask for the letter before you file.¹⁰

For non-cash gifts totaling more than $500 in a year, complete Form 8283 and attach it to your return. For a single item or group of similar items valued above $5,000, you generally need a written appraisal from a qualified appraiser, dated no earlier than 60 days before the donation and no later than the return’s due date.¹¹

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 170 – Charitable, Etc., Contributions and Gifts
2
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026
3
Internal Revenue Service. Donor-Advised Funds
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 501 – Exemption From Tax on Corporations, Certain Trusts, Etc.
5
Internal Revenue Service. Tax Exempt Organization Search
6
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526 (2025) – Charitable Contributions
7
Internal Revenue Service. Charitable Organizations – Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements
8
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Guidance Explains Rules for Vehicle Donations
9
Internal Revenue Service. Seniors Can Reduce Their Tax Burden by Donating to Charity Through Their IRA
10
Internal Revenue Service. Charitable Contributions – Written Acknowledgments
11
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8283 (Rev. December 2025)