{"id":64668,"date":"2017-08-23T20:04:00","date_gmt":"2017-08-24T01:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/?p=64668"},"modified":"2024-09-12T14:27:56","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T19:27:56","slug":"not-itemize-charitable-donations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/filing\/personal-tax-planning\/not-itemize-charitable-donations\/","title":{"rendered":"When not to itemize charitable donations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In taxes, \u201cmeasure twice, cut once,\u201d means taxpayers shouldn\u2019t just think about taxes in April when there is very little they can do to influence their tax outcome, but plan year round. End-of-year tax planning<\/a> becomes especially important because time is running out to impact their situation for the year. There are some relatively easy decisions to make, like using up all the funds in a use-it-or-lose-it flexible spending account (FSA)<\/a>. But some tax planning is more complicated and requires more time not just to decide what to do but also to execute the decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, taxpayers generally maximize their charitable donations at the end of the year. If they itemize, a taxpayer with a marginal tax rate of 25 percent could save $25 in taxes for every eligible $100 donation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cItemizing charitable donations is a common strategy to reduce taxable income, but there could be some better ways to get a tax benefit for your charitable donations,\u201d said Nathan Rigney, senior tax research analyst at The Tax Institute at H&R Block.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rigney identified two scenarios where there could be a more advantageous way to donate to charity, impacting retirees and investors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Qualified charitable distributions give retirees options<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Retirees face special circumstances when they make charitable donations. Retirees often do not have enough expenses to make itemizing worthwhile; for example, if their mortgage is paid off, they don\u2019t have mortgage interest to deduct. If they\u2019re not itemizing, there is no tax benefit for their charitable donations. And even if they do itemize, all they are doing is lowering their taxable income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, if the retiree makes a qualified charitable distribution from their individual retirement account (IRA) to a charity, they can lower their adjusted gross income (AGI), which, in turn, lowers the amount of Social Security subject to tax and their taxable income. It also counts toward their required minimum distribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retirees who are at least 70\u00bd should consider this qualified charitable distribution option, which is a trustee-to-trustee transfer to a qualified charity of some or all of their required minimum distributions from an IRA. The maximum distribution they may make to a charity is $100,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investors with appreciated stock may use a better strategy than itemizing donations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Investors can avoid paying capital gains tax on stock by contributing appreciated stock to a qualified charity directly rather than selling the appreciated stock and then making a cash charitable contribution. (Learn more: What is capital gains tax?<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is important to start planning to contribute appreciated stock or make a qualified charitable distribution before the end of the year,\u201d said Rigney. \u201cUnlike traditional charitable donations, where you only have to postmark the check in the mail by the end of the year, there are extra steps to making these kinds of contributions. You will need to work with your financial institution which may require additional time and paperwork than just writing a check and dropping it in the mail, or making an online payment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taxpayers can learn more about qualified charitable distributions<\/a> and donating appreciated property<\/a> online. For information on their specific circumstances, they should talk to a qualified tax professional<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In taxes, \u201cmeasure twice, cut once,\u201d means taxpayers shouldn\u2019t just think about taxes in April when there is very little they can do to influence their tax outcome, but plan year round. End-of-year tax planning becomes especially important because time is running out to impact their situation for the year. There are some relatively easy decisions to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":406,"featured_media":26859,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,125],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal-tax-planning","category-filing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"When not to itemize charitable donations | H&R Block<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/filing\/personal-tax-planning\/not-itemize-charitable-donations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When not to itemize charitable donations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In taxes, \u201cmeasure twice, cut once,\u201d means taxpayers shouldn\u2019t just think about taxes in April when there is very little they can do to influence their tax outcome, but plan year round. End-of-year tax planning becomes especially important because time is running out to impact their situation for the year. 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