Anyone who gives at year-end knows the rhythm: the appeals arrive in November, the decisions happen in December, and the checks go out before the end of the year. However, this year the rhythm needs a second look. The rules governing charitable deductions just went through their biggest overhaul in nearly a decade. The changes reward donors who plan ahead over donors who write checks in the last week of December.
What's New This Year
For donors who itemize, charitable deductions only count to the extent total giving exceeds 0.5 percent of adjusted gross income. A new cap also limits the deduction's value to 35 cents per dollar for taxpayers in the top bracket, down from 37.
Donors who take the standard deduction picked up something for the first time since 2021: a deduction of up to $1,000 in cash gifts to operating charities, or $2,000 for married couples filing jointly. The gift must be cash and must go directly to a charity, so donor-advised funds and private foundations don't qualify.
Taken together, the changes mean the timing and structure of a gift now matter as much as the amount.
Three Strategies Worth Knowing
For donors 70½ and older, the qualified charitable distribution remains the strongest tool available. The 2026 limit rose to $111,000 per taxpayer, transferred directly from an IRA to a qualified charity. The amount never touches taxable income, counts toward required minimum distributions, and sidesteps the new floor and cap entirely because it was never a deduction to begin with. For most retirees, a QCD beats withdrawing the money and donating the cash, even for those who itemize.
Donating appreciated stock keeps its double advantage. When you give shares held longer than a year, you deduct the full market value while avoiding the capital gains tax you'd owe on a sale. In a year when portfolios have grown, giving shares instead of cash stretches the same generosity further.
Under the new 0.5 percent floor, bunching gained fresh relevance. Concentrating two or three years of planned giving into a single tax year pushes total deductions well past both the floor and the standard deduction, now $32,200 for joint filers. A donor-advised fund makes the mechanics simple: contribute the full amount this year, take the deduction now, and distribute grants to charities on your own schedule.
Timing Beats Urgency
Each of these strategies shares one requirement, and it's lead time. A QCD requires the IRA custodian to process the transfer before December 31. A stock gift needs time to settle. A donor-advised fund contribution near year-end runs into the same processing crunch as everyone else's.
Starting the conversation in October instead of December turns year-end giving from a scramble into a decision. It also opens the door to coordinating gifts with the rest of the financial picture: realized gains, income timing, and estate plans that giving should support rather than complicate.
We work through these decisions with the families we serve well before the year closes. If you're weighing your year-end giving, we'd welcome the conversation.
Sources: Silicon Valley Community Foundation, "New Tax Rules and the Potential Impact on Philanthropy" (2026); Holland & Knight, "Year-End Charitable Planning: Big Changes Coming for 2026"; DAFgiving360, year-end giving guidance