Give 'til it hurts by Tax Services Oak Brook, Illinois

If you typically claim the standard deduction instead of itemizing, you don't receive any tax benefits from charitable donations.

Strategy: Increase your charitable gift-giving in 2026. Under the new One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), you can claim a charitable deduction even if you don't itemize deductions. But the new deduction for nonitemizers has its limits. Once you exceed the annual threshold, the excess is nondeductible.

Here's the whole story: Generally, you can deduct your monetary contributions to qualified charitable organizations, up to a percentage of your adjusted gross income (AGI). Currently, the allowable percentage is 60% of AGI. Any remainder may be carried over for up to five years.

However, the charitable deduction is only available to taxpayers who itemize deductions on their personal returns. If you opt for the standard deduction instead, there is zero tax reward. (A temporary deduction of up to $300 allowed to non-itemizers during the pandemic has expired.)

Due to several provisions included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) for 2018 through 2025—and generally extended and permanently preserved by the OBBBA—fewer taxpayers have been itemizing in recent years. Now the new law provides another tax advantage to forego itemized deductions.

Beginning in 2026, charitable deductions for itemizers are limited to the excess above 0.5% of AGI. In addition to this tax "haircut," the OBBBA extends a modified version of the "Pease rule" reducing itemized deductions for certain high-income taxpayers.

On the flip side, non-itemizers can deduct up to $1,000 of their monetary charitable donations, also beginning in 2026. The maximum is doubled to $2,000 for joint filers. Only amounts above the threshold will "hurt" you tax-wise. Unlike the charitable deduction for itemizers, there's no floor on deductions.

Example: Say that you expect to claim the standard deduction in 2026 and you file a joint return. You contribute a total of $1,500 to your favorite charities this year. In this case, you can deduct the total $1,500 in contributions. However, if you donate $2,500, the $2,000 cap comes into play. As a result, your deduction is limited to $2,000, unless you itemize.

To qualify for the deduction, donations must be made in cash or cash-like form to qualified charitable organizations. This includes checks, credit card charges, electronic payments and payroll deductions to IRS-recognized charities.

Tip: Other special rules apply to gifts of property.