Last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act made significant changes to the rules around charitable giving and income tax deductions. Here are some things to keep in mind as you consider your year-end charitable planning:

New deduction for non-itemizers: Clients taking the standard deduction may also deduct up to $1,000 ($2,000 for married couples filing jointly) for cash gifts to qualifying public charities. Although donor-advised funds (DAFs) and supporting organizations are excluded, gifts to unrestricted, field-of-interest, and designated funds generally qualify. The Community Foundation of Sarasota County offers several such options.

0.5% floor for itemizers: Charitable contributions generally are deductible only to the extent they exceed 0.5% of adjusted gross income (AGI). The disallowed portion generally cannot be carried forward unless contributions also exceed an applicable percentage limitation.

Limitation for highest-bracket taxpayers: For clients in the 37% bracket, a new limitation generally reduces the marginal tax benefit of affected itemized deductions, including charitable gifts, to 35%.

Qualified charitable distributions: Clients age 70½ or older may transfer up to $111,000 directly from an IRA to eligible charities in 2026, or $222,000 per couple if each spouse qualifies and gives from that spouse’s own IRA.

Some strategies worth considering:

• Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) are excluded from income rather than deducted, so neither limitation reduces their benefit. They can count toward required minimum distributions without increasing AGI. QCDs cannot be made to DAFs or supporting organizations but may generally be directed to the Community Foundation’s unrestricted, field-of-interest, and designated funds, such as Season of Sharing.

• Donating appreciated stock held more than one year generally avoids capital gains tax and may provide a fair-market-value deduction, subject to applicable limitations.

• Consider QCDs for IRA giving and appreciated stock for gifts from taxable accounts. Bunching several years of giving into one year may reduce the floor’s impact.

• Start planning early, particularly for stock transfers. We’re here to help you and your clients explore options that support their charitable goals.

This information is general and is not intended as tax or legal advice.