Are Charitable Donations Still Tax-Deductible? Yes, and Donating Crypto is a Good Idea

Yes, but only if you itemize, and your itemizations are greater than the standard deductions:

The 2022 standard deduction applies to all taxpayers:

    • Single taxpayers and married individuals filing separately: $12,950
    • Married individuals filing jointly: $25,900

In order to deduct charitable contributions and other eligible expenses, you’ll need to itemize instead of taking the standard deduction on your federal taxes.(https://daffy.org/resources/charitable-tax-deductions-guide-2022)

If you do itemize, and claim more in deductible expenses than these amounts, then your charitable donations can also be deducted. What this is worth depends on your tax bracket.

Here are the tax brackets by filing status for the 2022 tax year.

In order to make a donation tax-deductible, you’ll need to itemize your deductions. That means all of your itemized deductions should be greater than the standard deduction. Here are some of the biggest itemized deductions that may apply:

    • Unreimbursed medical care expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.
    • Mortgage interest (on up to $750,000 of debt).
    • A home equity loan or line of credit interest, but only if used for home improvements, buying, or building.
    • Personal property, state, and local taxes (up to $10,000 limit).

When planning your charitable contributions for 2022, first calculate your other potential itemized deductions. That gives you a starting point to see how much you would need to donate in order to make a difference in your taxes. Ultimately, the total would need to exceed the standard deduction amount for your filing status.

How much can you claim?

The IRS sets a limit on how much you’re allowed to claim as a charitable deduction. In 2021, the limit was increased to 100% of an individual’s annual gross income in order to incentivize charitable giving during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the 2022 charitable contribution rules have reverted back to no more than 50% of your AGI for cash contributions. The limit is 30% of AGI for non-cash contributions (for example, donating shares of stock). It’s still one of the most generous deductions available – a couple with an AGI of $200,000 can deduct up to $100,000 of cash donations to charity in a given year. But any charitable donations above those amounts are not eligible for a tax deduction.

How much can you claim in charitable donations without receipts?

It depends on what type of giving you give and how much.

    • Cash contributions: Any cash contributions under $250 don’t require a receipt from the organization. Any contribution of $250 and over does require some type of written communication from the organization confirming your donation.
    • Non-cash contributions: For non-cash contributions, the limit to make a deduction without a receipt is $500. Additionally, non-cash contributions also require an appraisal to determine the fair market value of the item you donated. If the value is $5,000 or less, you just need to hang onto the appraisal with your tax documents in case of an audit. But if the appraised value is more than $500,000, you must submit the qualified appraisal to the IRS with the rest of your tax return.

What’s the tax benefit of donating stock to charity?

Instead of selling off well-performing stocks and using the proceeds to donate to charity, you may find even greater tax benefits by directly donating the stock through a donor-advised fund. When you sell your stocks, you’ll automatically trigger a capital gains tax — even if you end up donating the profits.

How can I optimize my gains or losses on Bitcoin and Ethereum by donating them?

Buying cryptocurrency can feel like even more of a roller coaster than investing in the stock market. No matter how your crypto portfolio has performed recently, you can optimize your taxes by donating crypto in 2022.

Now that cryptocurrency is considered taxable personal property by the federal government, any realized gains are taxed as capital gains (either long-term or short-term, depending on your holding period). But that also means you can take advantage of IRS tax deductions for donations just as you would with stocks.

 

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