- The CARES Act, which went into effect this spring, established a new above-the-line deduction for charitable giving.
- You can write off up to $300 in cash donations on your 2020 income tax return, which you’ll be filing next spring.
- Normally, you’d have to itemize deductions to write off charitable giving when you file your taxes. About 14.8 million households took a tax break for donating to charity in 2018, according to the IRS.
Giving a few bucks to your favorite charity in time for the holidays? You can finally collect a tax break for it.
The CARES Act, which was signed into law this spring, included a “partial above the line deduction” for charitable contributions.
This allows people who take the standard deduction — which is $12,400 for single filers and $24,800 for married-filing-jointly in 2020 — to claim a deduction of up to $300 in donations.
You’d claim this tax break when you file your 2020 return next spring.