The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) increased the standard deduction for taxpayers and restricted itemized deductions—so much so that it’s estimated that only 10% of filers will itemize. Therefore, they will not receive any tax benefit from charitable contributions.
There are a few categories of taxpayers who are able to overcome the lack of itemized deductions for gifts to charities. And for those who cannot, there’s the option of bunching donations together every few years in order to get the tax benefit.
A few other points worthy of discussion with clients: Is the donation going to an IRS-recognized charity, and will the donation have to be substantiated? Is the donation over the (new) AGI cap? Review a complete checklist for charitable tax savings.