Single, head of household, or married filing separately: up to $1,000.
Married filing jointly: up to $2,000.
On top of the standard deduction: yes. You do not have to itemize.
Starts: tax year 2026, the return you file in early 2027. It has no end date.
If I give $1,000, how much do I get back? Between $100 and $370 off your federal tax, depending on your top bracket (10% to 37%). It lowers the tax you owe, so it shows up as a bigger refund only if your withholding already covered your tax.
What is my deduction worth?
Pick your filing status, enter what you gave in cash to charity during the year, and pick your top federal tax bracket.
The estimate is the deductible amount times your bracket. It assumes your taxable income is at least that large, and it counts federal tax only.
Your questions, answered
How much can I deduct if I'm single and take the standard deduction?
Up to $1,000 of cash gifts to qualifying charities, on top of the standard deduction. Give $600 and you deduct $600. Give $1,500 and you deduct $1,000. The same $1,000 cap applies to head of household and married filing separately.
If I donate $1,000, how much tax refund do I get?
The deduction is worth your gift times your top federal tax rate. At 10%, a $1,000 gift saves $100. At 22%, $220. At 37%, $370. For a joint return, a $2,000 gift saves twice that. That saving lowers what you owe; whether it arrives as a refund depends on how much tax was withheld during the year. Use the calculator above for your own numbers.
How much can a married couple filing jointly deduct?
Up to $2,000 on the joint return. It is one cap for the return, not $1,000 per spouse on top of $2,000.
How much can I deduct on the taxes I file in 2027?
The return you file in early 2027 covers tax year 2026, the first year of this rule. Cash gifts made from January 1 to December 31, 2026 count, up to $1,000, or $2,000 married filing jointly. A gift made in January 2027 belongs to next year's return.
What about tax year 2027?
The same: up to $1,000, or $2,000 joint. The rule is permanent, and the amounts are written into the law as fixed dollar figures, so they do not rise with inflation. Unused room does not carry over. If you give $400 in 2026, you do not get $1,600 of room in 2027.
Where do I claim it on Form 1040?
On the IRS draft of the 2026 Form 1040 it has its own line, 12f, "Charitable contribution deduction for non-itemizers," just under the standard deduction line. No Schedule A needed. That is a draft, and line numbers can move before the final form; we will update this page when the IRS publishes it.
Can I give through my donor-advised fund?
Not for this deduction. Money you put into a donor-advised fund does not count, and neither do gifts to supporting organizations, a type of charity that exists to support another one. To use this rule, give directly to the charity.
What counts as "cash"?
Money: a check, a credit or debit card, a bank transfer, cash. Stock, clothing, household goods, and other property do not count. The gift has to go to a qualifying charity. Gifts to an individual or a personal fundraiser do not. NYC Honor Foundation is a qualifying public charity, EIN 42-1836369; you can check any charity on the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. More on what counts as a cash donation.
What records do I need?
For every cash gift, keep a bank or card record, or a written receipt from the charity, showing the charity's name, the date, and the amount. For any single gift of $250 or more, you need a written acknowledgment from the charity before you file.
Is there a 0.5% of income floor?
Not on this deduction. The new rule that only gifts above 0.5% of your adjusted gross income count applies to people who itemize. The law that creates the $1,000 and $2,000 deduction tells it to ignore that floor.
What if I itemize?
Then this rule is not for you. Your gifts go on Schedule A under the itemized rules, including that 0.5% floor. You pick one route or the other for the year.
Does it count on my state return?
This page covers the federal return only. For New York, see the New York charitable deduction for 2026.
If you give more than this rule covers, or want to compare itemizing, bunching, and IRA gifts after 70½, the charitable deduction calculator runs the full picture on your numbers.
Where these answers come from
- The law: Internal Revenue Code section 170(p), as amended by Public Law 119-21, section 70424, effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025. Section 63(b)(4) puts it alongside the standard deduction. Records: section 170(f)(17) and 170(f)(8).
- IRS: Topic No. 506, Charitable Contributions; Publication 6196, Charitable Contribution Deduction Tips for Non-Itemizers (October 2026); IRS summary of the 2025 tax law; Tips for tracking charitable donations; draft 2026 Form 1040 at IRS.gov/DraftForms.
- Publication 526 is the IRS's full guide to charitable gifts. The current edition covers 2025 returns; we will check the 2026 edition when it is released.
The 2026 Giving Checklist
The December deadlines and the three numbers to remember, on one printable page. Enter your email and the download appears right here.