Is There a Deduction Limit on Charitable Donations?

Mar 18, 2024 By Susan Kelly

You can maximize the impact by cherishing giving back to the community through charity. Government bodies heavily incentivize those who make contributions to support and uplift any community. These incentives allow increased deductibles, thus minimizing tax bills.

However, there is a limit on charitable donations according to different categories. If there are any contributions or donations that are higher than the limit, they are carried over to the following year. Let's discuss different charity donation limit thresholds and how they fit into your tax filings.

What are the Different Limit on Charitable Donations Options available to a Donor?

One of the most common tax deduction limits from all the categories is the 50% charity donation limit. You, as an individual, can claim this maximum limit each year. Most of the time, it combines all the donations and charities you made. Then, these contributions are added up and checked to see if they are below your AGI.

This limit is the percentage of your adjusted gross income (AGI) and cannot exceed it unless under special conditions. This limit is also called the contribution base for your tax that year. You can quickly increase this limit to 60% if you donate to public charities and don't go beyond this contribution base.

The limits for Capital gains property donations are about 30%, while your contribution base will reduce your private and public charities to 20%.

Let's discuss some details of these options for limiting charitable donations.

50% Limit to Contribution Base

This limit has been set for almost most charitable donations and typically is combined into many contributions and then reaching the limit. It is pretty essential, as one of the most asked questions last year was, is there a limit on charitable donations for 2023? So, if you are on the same board, the following organizations are eligible if you want to reach your 50% limit on charitable donations.

  • Church or convention of churches.
  • Any organization that is tax-exempt in official books.
  • Medical health organizations and research centers fall under a broad set of rules.
  • Any government unit is allowed if you gift or donate something to support official usage.
  • Any organization approved under IRC 509(a)(2) or (3) and more.

The only situation where the deduction limit to your contribution base reaches 100% is if you contribute as a farmer or rancher. If you are giving off your land for livestock or agriculture and will remain that way, you can 100% get a rebate based on your contribution base.

60% Limit to Contribution Base

This increase is possible in certain conditions. If a taxpayer gives charity to specific organizations, he can increase their limit on charitable donations that year. These organizations are as follows:

  • Public charities.
  • Private foundations.
  • Certain governmental units will not fall under this scheme.
  • Any non-operating private foundation isn't eligible for this.

Remember that the 60% limit contributions are separate from if you have made a 50% limit on charitable donations.

Regular 30% Limit to Contribution Base

These donations are only eligible for charities the IRS hasn't approved yet for a 50% limit on charitable contributions. These donations or gifts are totally about non-capital gain property. Some of the charities that are non-50% are:

  • Veterans organizations.
  • Non-profit cemeteries.
  • Fraternal societies.
  • Some private yet non-operating foundations.

The final limit on the 30% contribution is that, under one condition, it can be null and void. So if your 50% of adjusted gross income from your contributions to 50% approved charities is less than your regular 30% contributions, the regular contribution doesnt count.

The 30% rule is great for students living with a taxpayer as dependents. Any

Special 30% Limit to Contribution Base

If you are gifting a capital gains property according to its Fair Market Value, you can utilize the 30% base contributions limit. This property gift applies to charities that fall under the 50% charity limit. Based on FMV, the amount only varies according to the presumed sale value of the gift at the time of donating.

20% Limit to Contribution Base

Most rules for this limitation apply to the regular 30% but for different organizations and gifts. If you donate to a different organization and are subject to more than one limit, the following rules apply for deduction.

  • Your contributions are for a 50% limit, the percentage of your AGI.
  • If a 30% AGI limit is applicable, only the lesser of the two is applicable where
    • It is 30% of your AGI.
    • It is 50% of your AGI and any other amount you donated to the special 30%, but subtract any contribution to the 50% limit organization.
  • If you donate a capital gain property, the 30% limit is subject to the same rules above. The only difference is that everything now applies to the capital gain property and its value.
  • The same goes for the 20%, where the lesser of any contribution subjected to its category will be considered. Each higher tier limit for capital gains property will be subtracted.

Final Words

Many individuals align their goals with good values while gaining benefits from their charity, such as tax deductions. The donation amount can vary depending on the organization you are donating to. It can be increased if the organization can take in the maximum amount. If you are donating to a 30% limit organization, you need to give or donate more to other organizations to reach your personal 50% of AGI.

So, the next time you donate to a charitable organization, please consider which limit contribution percentage they fall under. It is quite understandable that while you do gifts or charity to other organizations, sometimes you also want a good rebate on your tax returns.

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