Tax Deduction Limits on Charitable Donations

An individual is typically allowed to claim the total amount that she donated to charity during the tax year as a tax deduction when she files her taxes. However, the IRS has established a series of regulations that limit the total amount that an individual can deduct, which means that these deductions can be extremely confusing for anyone that doesn't understand the limits.

Charity Types

The IRS recognizes two main types of charities, which includes 50 percent limit charities such as churches or private research foundations and non-50 percent limit charities such as fraternities or veteran's organizations.

Cash/Property

An individual may deduct up to 50 percent of his gross income for any cash or property that he donated to a charity identified as a 50 percent limit charity.

Capital Gains

An individual may deduct up to 30 percent of her gross income for any capital gains that she donated to a 50 percent charity or up to 20 percent for a non-50 percent charity.

Carryover

An individual may carry a deduction for a charitable donation over to the following year (for a maximum of 5 years) if the individual filing the return has already claimed the limit.

Non-50 Percent Charities

An individual may deduct up to 30 percent of his gross income for any cash or property that he donated to any non-50 percent limit charity.

Resources

• Tax Deductions for Charitable Donations
• How to Claim Charitable Donations
• IRS Charitable Contribution Publication