tabularo

Charitable Giving Tax Deduction Calculator

How It Works

Starting with the 2026 tax year, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) changed how charitable cash donations are deducted, depending on whether you itemize your deductions or take the standard deduction. This calculator models both paths so you can see which one applies to your situation.

If you itemize deductions (Schedule A), your charitable cash contributions are now only deductible to the extent they exceed 0.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) — a new "floor" under OBBBA §70425. For example, if your AGI is $200,000, the first $1,000 of cash donations (0.5% × $200,000) is not deductible; only the amount above that floor counts.

If you take the standard deduction instead of itemizing, OBBBA §70424 creates a brand-new above-the-line charitable deduction for cash contributions to public charities: up to $1,000 for single filers and $2,000 for married filing jointly. Crucially, this above-the-line deduction is NOT reduced by the 0.5%-of-AGI floor — the two provisions apply on separate paths and are never combined on the same donation.

Scope of this calculator: This tool models CASH donations to public charities only, as described in IRC §170(b)(1)(A). Non-cash donations (property, stock, vehicles), donor-advised fund (DAF) contributions, and gifts to private foundations are excluded from the above-the-line path and are not modeled here. If your giving includes non-cash property or DAF contributions, consult a tax professional to determine your specific eligibility and deduction amount.

Enter your AGI, your total cash donations to public charities, your filing status, and whether you itemize other deductions (mortgage interest, SALT, etc.) to see your estimated deductible amount under each path.

Formula Breakdown

Itemized path (0.5%-of-AGI floor, then 60%-of-AGI ceiling):
Deductible Donations = min( max(0, Cash Donations − (AGI × 0.5%)),  AGI × 60% )

Example: Single filer, AGI $200,000, itemizes, donates $10,000 cash:
Floor = $200,000 × 0.005 = $1,000
60% ceiling = $200,000 × 0.60 = $120,000
Deductible Donations = min($10,000 − $1,000, $120,000) = $9,000

Above-the-line path (non-itemizer, no floor applied):
Deduction = min(Cash Donations, Filing-Status Cap)
- Single cap: $1,000
- Married Filing Jointly (MFJ) cap: $2,000

Example: Single filer, does not itemize, donates $10,000 cash:
Deduction = min($10,000, $1,000) = $1,000

These two computations are mutually exclusive — the 0.5% floor never applies to the above-the-line deduction, and the $1,000/$2,000 cap never applies to the itemized deduction.

Data Source

IRS Publication 505 (2026) + IRS Tax Topic 506 + One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21) §§70424/70425

View source

Last verified: 2026-07-04

Related Calculators

Frequently Asked Questions