22-02-2025
Charitable donations: What's tax-deductible?
(NewsNation) — Keep those receipts when you donate to charity because you could get a tax break on your tax returns.
Donations to charity can be tax-deductible if you donated to an IRS-recognized charity in 2024 and did not receive anything in return. Filing these on your taxes could reduce how much you owe.
Taxes for 2024 should be filed by April 15. Here is what you need to know about charitable donations, what is tax-deductible and what isn't.
Giving your time, clothes, food, cash or other items to a 501(c)(3) qualified organization is a charitable donation.
501(c)(3) designates the tax-exempt status of the nonprofit organization. You can search for an organization on the Internal Revenue Service's website.
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A qualified organization operates exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary or educational purposes. This includes churches,
Cash donations can be an itemized deduction on your tax return. In most cases, 60% of your adjusted gross income is the limit to the amount that can be deducted, according to the IRS.
Businesses that donate food to organizations that care for 'the ill, needy or infants' can deduct around 15 percent of their aggregate net income, the IRS says.
If you donate property, including clothes, cars and real estate, you can deduct the fair market value of the items.
Expenses related to volunteering, such as gas mileage, can be included to lower your taxes. Time spent for volunteer service cannot be deducted, however.
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The value of your time and services is not tax-deductible. Neither are political donations, donations to most foreign organizations, sports club fees, blood donations, GoFundMe payments or bingo or lottery tickets.
There is no minimum, but you should consider whether you're filing using the standard deduction or the itemized deduction.
Most taxpayers take the standard deduction, which is the fixed amount set by the IRS that taxpayers can subtract from their income before income tax is applied.
Which tax bracket am I in, and how much is the standard deduction?
Unlike itemized deductions, which require you to track specific expenses, you don't have to prove anything to take the standard deduction.
That's one of the reasons most taxpayers claim the standard deduction — it's easy.
But you can't itemize your charitable donations if you take the standard deduction.
To claim the charitable donations on your taxes, you would need to file using the itemized deduction rather than the standard deduction. Consult with a tax professional on which route is best for your financial situation.
NewsNation's Andrew Dorn contributed to this article.
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