Charitable giving: Learn about the ways and whys of donation
Charitable giving can have a twofold impact, with a gift for your favorite nonprofit organization and a potential tax break for you.
In 2021, Americans’ charitable giving totaled $484.85 billion, a 4% increase over 2020, according to Giving USA, which tracks how various groups donate to charity. Sixty-seven percent of gifts come from individuals. There are different charitable strategies people can use to take advantage of tax deductions.
Key Points
- Charitable giving supports worthy causes, and you may earn a tax deduction.
- The 2017 tax law raised the standard deduction threshold.
- Learn how to find a charity that’s right for you—and avoid scams.
How charitable giving works
People can donate to charities by giving cash, checks, securities, or properties. The first reason to donate to charities is to be generous, but depending on how much you can give, there may be tax benefits, too.
Whether charitable giving affects your taxes depends on how much you donate in any year. Changes to the 2017 tax code made it harder to use charitable donations as a tax write-off, because the standard tax deduction for individuals and married couples rose significantly.
The standard deduction for a married couple is now roughly $26,000. State and local taxes—including real estate taxes—apply to the first $10,000. If a couple pays $4,000 in mortgage interest, they must donate at least $12,000 to meet the threshold to start itemizing deductions. Once past that hurdle, any donations above that amount are eligible for a deduction.
Isn’t there an extra charitable contribution deduction?
For the tax years 2020 and 2021, filers were allowed to deduct up to $300 ($600 for those married filing jointly) of cash charitable contributions they made, even if they took the standard deduction. This extra deduction is not available for 2022.
For example:
- Standard deduction for a married couple filing jointly: $26,000
- Maximum state and local taxes applied: $10,000
- Other applicable deductions, such as mortgage interest: $4,000
- Itemized charitable donations: $13,000
- Total tax deduction for charitable giving: $1,000
The average person may not be able to make a five-figure donation every year, so the key to getting a tax deduction is to have a strategy.
Types of charitable strategies
One strategy to support favorite charities and receive a tax deduction is to “bunch” donations, that is, to pool several years’ worth of donations into one year. This move works best in a year when you have other write-offs to lift you above the standard deduction threshold that allows you to itemize charitable gifts. However, bunching donations puts charities in a feast-or-famine mode; they’ll receive your big donation one year, but nothing for the next few years.
If you have significant assets, trusts are a charitable-giving strategy that benefits both you and the nonprofit. These strategies take time to execute and are best created with the help of a financial advisor, as they are normally used as estate-planning tools. Here are five types of charitable strategies:
- Donor-advised fund (DAF). Donors who can surpass the standard deduction hurdle can put money into a donor-advised fund to receive the tax break. The fund allows you to parcel out money over time.
- Charitable remainder trust. Gifts put in this type of trust allow donors to give to charity, but receive income as well.
- Charitable lead trust. With this trust, charities receive income for a set amount of time; at the end of the term, any leftover money goes to another beneficiary.
- Private foundations. These organizations are for wealthy people who can give a significant amount of money, usually in the millions, to open and sustain charitable activities.
- Qualified charitable distribution (QCD). Retirees over age 70 1/2 can make these special tax-free distributions from traditional individual retirement accounts. Those over 72 can use QCDs to satisfy annual required minimum distributions. Work with your retirement account trustee to send that money directly to a charity and avoid paying taxes on the distribution.
Tips to know about charitable donations
To be considered a tax-exempt organization under the 501(c)(3) Internal Revenue Code, an organization cannot benefit private interests, cannot be an action organization, and its political and legislative lobbying are restricted, according to the IRS.
Types of qualified organizations include:
- Organizations developed to prevent cruelty to animals or children
- A synagogue, mosque, church, or other religious organization
- Nonprofit schools and hospitals
- War veterans’ organizations
- A domestic fraternal society that functions under a lodge system
- Certain nonprofit cemeteries
Some nonprofit organizations are not eligible for deductible charitable contributions, including:
- Civic leagues, social and sports clubs, chambers of commerce
- Foreign organizations (except certain Canadian, Mexican, and Israeli charities)
- Lobbying groups
- Homeowners associations
- Political groups
- Individuals
Breaking down charitable donations
If you choose to donate cash, you can typically deduct up to 60% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). The IRS has a list of “50% limit organizations” such as churches, hospitals, and other organizations; you can only deduct up to 50% of your AGI for non-cash donations to these groups. Other specific assets may be donated up to 30% or 20% of your AGI.
When it comes to giving cash, the donation is recorded at the time it’s given. Note that cash doesn’t just mean dollar bills—it’s also credit cards and checks. A credit card contribution is deductible in the year it’s charged to the card. Donations made by check and sent through the mail will count in the year they were mailed.
If you donate big-ticket goods, such as art, real estate, or vehicles, the IRS has certain requirements regarding their fair market value, which may require an appraisal. IRS Publication 561 offers specifics.
Additionally, if you attend a benefit for a qualified 501(c)(3) and you pay more than the fair market value (FMV) for a good or service, the excess can be considered a charitable contribution. Upon purchase of the good or service, the organization should report to you the FMV. For example, if your gala ticket was $150, and you received a meal worth $50, you could include $100 in your charitable total. If you bought $50 in raffle tickets at the event, and you didn’t win anything, you could add another $50 to your total.
Whether you donate cash, securities, or other assets, be sure to get receipts for any donations.
How to find the best charities
Start by deciding what type of charitable work resonates with you. Is it caring for animals, feeding the hungry, or supporting the arts? Do you want to support local, national, or international charities? What size of organization do you want to support—small, medium, or large?
Once you narrow the criteria down, start to investigate the charity. If it’s local, you may be able to talk to the executive director or a board member. They are often passionate about their work, and you can find out more about their community impact.
Visit websites such as Charity Navigator or Candid GuideStar to dig into an organization’s financials. These websites gather publicly available information about nonprofits in one place, including organizations’ annual tax filing, Form 990, total revenue, and expenses and salaries of key persons.
Signs of a well-run charity include:
- Transparency. Information about how the organization collects and disburses donations should be easy to access.
- Efficient fundraising. Events should benefit the charity more than the event venue and attendees.
- Reasonable administrative costs. Again, the underlying charity should be the chief beneficiary. Most of the budget should be spent on programs, not staff salaries.
Three different ways to be charitable
Getting a tax write-off for charitable giving is a nice benefit, but the primary motive for donating to charity should be altruism. The classic saying among charities is that people can donate three ways:
Donating time. Volunteering time is a great way to involve children in charitable activities, and it builds on most children’s natural desire to help. As a family, discuss what organizations are important to you and encourage children to choose a nonprofit to support. Supporting animal shelters or parks are good ways to involve young children, while older children can volunteer at places such as food pantries to see their impact in action and pick up important social skills as they interact with people of different ages and backgrounds.
Donating treasure. Make donating money to charity a line item in the budget. Children can use piggy banks to save part of their allowance, while teens with jobs can learn to budget by allocating part of their paychecks to charity. Charities suggest monetary donations have a bigger impact if donors focus on a few organizations and give more significant funding, rather than spreading a few dollars over several groups.
Donating talent. People with in-demand skills such as languages, technology, legal experience, or a host of other skills can donate their talents to nonprofits.
Tips for avoiding charitable giving scams
Unscrupulous people may try to fake being a charity to steal money, so if you’re looking to make donations, avoid falling for scams. Charity Navigator offers these tips:
- Ask an organization to provide their employer identification number so you can look up their tax records. If they don’t have one, don’t donate.
- Beware of charities with names that sound similar to nationally known organizations.
- Ask about the charity’s goals, missions, and history of success.
- Check the organization’s authorized websites. Most end in “.org” rather than “.com”.
- Use caution when responding to email solicitations. Charities you’ve interacted with will send emails, but if you’re unsure, check the charity’s website. Be skeptical of emails from organizations you’re not familiar with.
- Beware of requests to send money overseas.
The bottom line
The primary goal of charitable giving is to help an organization you believe in. Tax deductions can be useful for people who give enough money to itemize their taxes, so it makes sense to be strategic if that is a goal. In those cases, work with a financial advisor to make sure the donations and tax accounting are done properly.
Know which types of organizations can receive tax-deductible donations and which ones can’t. Donating to charities can do a lot of good for you and the organization, and establishing a connection can result in years of goodwill.
It’s better to give than to receive. But it’s best when you’ve done your homework.