Charitable Impact Calculator

Cash donations to qualifying 501(c)(3) public charities are deductible up to 60% of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). Donations of appreciated property are generally limited to 30% of AGI. Any excess can be carried forward for up to 5 years. You must itemise deductions on Schedule A to claim the charitable deduction. For 2025, the standard deduction is $15,000 (single) or $30,000 (MFJ), so itemising only benefits donors whose total itemised deductions exceed these thresholds.

For cash gifts under $250: a bank record, receipt, or written communication from the charity. For gifts of $250 or more: a written acknowledgment from the charity received before filing your return, stating the amount and whether any goods or services were provided in exchange. For non-cash gifts over $500: IRS Form 8283. For non-cash gifts over $5,000: a qualified appraisal. For gifts of publicly traded stock: the charity's acknowledgment and your broker confirmation.

Taxpayers aged 70.5 or older can make a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) directly from their IRA to a qualifying charity. The QCD is excluded from taxable income (up to $105,000 per person in 2024, adjusted for inflation). This is more tax-efficient than taking an IRA distribution and then donating, because the QCD counts toward your Required Minimum Distribution but does not increase your AGI, potentially reducing Medicare premium surcharges and taxation of Social Security benefits.

Usually yes. If you donate appreciated stock (held more than 1 year) directly to a charity, you avoid the capital gains tax you would owe if you sold the stock first, AND you get a charitable deduction for the full fair market value of the stock. This makes the effective cost of giving lower. For example, stock worth $10,000 with a $2,000 cost basis: selling and donating cash would trigger a $1,200 capital gains tax (at 15%), while donating the stock directly avoids this tax entirely.

A Donor Advised Fund is a charitable account (offered by Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, Vanguard Charitable, and others) where you make an irrevocable contribution and receive an immediate tax deduction, then recommend grants to charities over time. DAFs are particularly useful for bunching donations: contribute multiple years of planned giving in one year to exceed the standard deduction threshold, then distribute to charities over several years. Minimum initial contributions vary by sponsor ($5,000-50,000).