Your Donations Count Again: The New 2026 Charitable Deduction
Every tax season, someone asks me, "Can I write off my donations?" For most people, the answer has been that their giving was already covered by the standard deduction, the flat amount nearly everyone gets no matter what they spend.
Starting in 2026, you get a little extra. You keep your full standard deduction, and you can now add up to $1,000 on top of it for cash gifts to charity. It's permanent, not a one-year thing.
What's new: you can deduct donations again
The standard deduction is a good deal. About 9 out of 10 people take it, because it's more than they'd get by adding up their actual expenses. Now it comes with a small bonus for giving.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in July 2025, created a new deduction starting with the 2026 tax year:
Filing status | Max deduction for cash gifts |
Single, head of household, or married filing separately | $1,000 |
Married filing jointly | $2,000 |
You take it on top of your standard deduction. Nothing extra to fill out. Give $600 to your favorite food bank in 2026, and you can deduct $600. Give $3,000 as a single filer, and you can deduct $1,000 (the cap). Anything over the cap doesn't carry forward to next year.
What's it worth? It depends on your tax bracket. If you're in the 12% bracket, a $1,000 deduction saves you about $120 in federal income tax. In the 22% bracket, about $220. Not life-changing, but it's real money for giving you were going to do anyway.
What counts (and what doesn't)
Not every kind of giving qualifies, so here's the short version.
Two rules do most of the work: it has to be money, and it has to go directly to a qualifying public charity (generally a 501(c)(3)).
Gift | Counts for the new deduction? |
Cash, check, card, or bank transfer to a 501(c)(3) charity | Yes |
Monthly recurring donation to a nonprofit | Yes, each payment counts |
Donation to your church, mosque, synagogue, or temple | Yes |
Gift to a project through its 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor | Yes, if the money goes to the sponsor |
Clothes, furniture, or household goods to a thrift store | No (non-cash) |
Artwork, stock, or other property | No (non-cash) |
Contribution to a donor-advised fund | No |
Gift to a private foundation | Generally no |
Money to an individual, mutual aid fund, or personal crowdfunding campaign | No |
Donation to a political campaign, PAC, or party | No |
Your time and volunteer hours | No |
Not sure if an organization qualifies? Look it up in the IRS's free Tax Exempt Organization Search before you give.
A note for organizers, mutual aid folks, and community givers
This part is for everyone whose giving happens outside of big nonprofits.
A lot of the giving in our community doesn't run through big nonprofits. It's Venmo-ing a friend for rent, chipping in to someone's surgery fundraiser, or dropping money in a mutual aid fund. That giving matters enormously. It just isn't tax-deductible, because the money goes to a person rather than a qualifying charity.
A few situations worth knowing about:
Fiscally sponsored projects. Many grassroots groups aren't their own 501(c)(3) but have a fiscal sponsor that is. Donations made to the sponsor for the project are generally deductible. Ask the group how to give so it runs through the sponsor.
Advocacy groups. Many advocacy organizations are 501(c)(4)s, not 501(c)(3)s. Donations to a 501(c)(4) generally aren't deductible, even if the cause is one you care about. Some groups have both: Forum for Equality, for example, runs a 501(c)(3) Foundation (deductible) and a 501(c)(4) lobbying arm (not deductible). Check which one you're giving to.
Benefit events and raffles. If you buy a ticket to a fundraiser gala, only the part of the price above the value of what you got (dinner, a show) counts as a donation. The organization should tell you that amount. Raffle tickets don't count at all.
Local queer and trans organizations where your gift counts
Looking for somewhere to put that $1,000? These organizations do queer and trans work in New Orleans and across Louisiana, and each is a 501(c)(3), so cash gifts made directly to them qualify for the new deduction.
Organization | What they do |
Zero-barrier, permanent housing for trans and gender-nonconforming people in New Orleans, with paths to homeownership | |
Statewide support groups, resources, and advocacy for trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming Louisianans | |
Support groups for LGBTQ+ people and their families, plus college scholarships for LGBTQ+ students | |
Education and public awareness on LGBTQ+ issues in Louisiana (give to the Foundation, not Forum for Equality Louisiana, for the deduction) | |
Cash assistance, support groups, and city-level policy work for trans people in Louisiana, including trans sex workers |
Giving before December 31
To count for 2026, a donation has to be made by December 31, 2026. A card charge counts on the day you make it, even if you pay the bill in January. A check counts on the day you mail it. So if you were planning end-of-year gifts anyway, you now get a tax break for them.
No shoebox of receipts required. If the donation shows up on your bank or card statement, that's your record, and that's fine. For any single gift of $250 or more, the IRS also wants a note from the charity. Most charities send one automatically, usually a year-end letter listing your total for the year.
Wondering how your giving fits into the rest of your tax picture? No judgment here. Book a free 15-minute intro consult and we'll talk it through.
This post is for general educational purposes and is not individualized tax advice. Every situation is different, so talk with a tax professional about yours.
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