It's Now Easier for Millions of Americans to Get a Tax Break for Donating to Charity

In a major change to the tax code, cash donations to charity can now lower your tax bill, even if you take the standard deduction.

An above-the-line charitable giving deduction is in effect for the 2026 tax year and beyond as part of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The provision allows those who claim the standard deduction — about 90% of all taxpayers — to also deduct from their income charitable donations of up to $1,000 for single filers and $2,000 for married couples filing jointly.

“This is one of the most meaningful charitable giving changes in years, and it’s aimed squarely at everyday households,” Will Kellar, managing partner at Human Investing, says in an email.

Previously, only taxpayers who itemized their taxes could write off charitable contributions. Itemizers tend to be among the wealthiest Americans, which meant charitable tax breaks haven’t been an option for the vast majority of taxpayers (notwithstanding a brief period during the pandemic in which non-itemizers could claim a $300 deduction for cash contributions to charity — a provision that expired in 2022.)

“For years,” Kellar says, “the tax code implicitly favored wealthy households who itemized and sidelined the rest.”

Starting this month, approximately 150 million Americans are newly eligible for the modest a break if they donate to charity — but the benefit won’t be automatic. Here’s what you need to know.

How to qualify for the new charitable giving deduction

For most taxpayers claiming the standard deduction, the key qualifications for the new tax break for charitable giving are that the donations need to be cash-based, and the organization needs to be a qualified public 501(c)(3) charity, according to Mitchell Kraus, a financial planner who specializes in philanthropy at Capital Intelligence Advisors.

These rules mean you'll want to lean toward giving to the American Red Cross, churches or Habitat for Humanity rather than unions or think tanks. Another important clarification: The cash-based donations don’t need to literally be dollar bills. They can take the form of bank transfers, card payments or checks.

The main exclusions are goods and services, so time spent at the soup kitchen won’t qualify. Neither would the clothes you donated to the Salvation Army.

While you're sending over the cash, remember to keep good records. A paper trail, including a “written acknowledgement” from the charity, is important, Kraus says

That way, you’ll easily be able to substantiate your deduction if the IRS comes knocking.

“Many families never tracked their giving because it didn’t matter before. Now it does,” Kellar says. “Save receipts, keep confirmations and be intentional about how gifts are made. The bar isn’t high, but it is real.”

There are other new charitable giving rules that affect itemizers. (You can read more about them in this story.)

For taxpayers who take the standard deduction, though, they're looking at a tax benefit worth potentially hundreds of dollars depending on filing status and income bracket. For example, a single filer with a top tax rate of 22% who donated $1,000 or more would receive a benefit of $220, while a married couple in the 37% bracket who donated at least $2,000 would get a tax break of $740.

Kellar says everyday donors typically give because they care, not because they're angling for a tax break. But still, he says, it’s nice that they will finally get acknowledged by the IRS.

“This law didn’t create generosity,” he says. “It corrected a blind spot.”

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