Giving Tuesday is coming up at the end of November, so here’s a special reminder about this year’s “bonus” charitable deduction. As part of the CARES Act in 2020, Congress authorized a special charitable deduction for 2020 only for people who aren’t able to itemize due to the standard deduction being higher than their itemized deductions. The limit was $300, and that was the case whether Single, Head-Of-Household, or Married Filing Jointly. The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, passed late last year extended this deduction into 2021 and doubles it to $600 for joint filers.

As with last year, to qualify, the donation must be in cash, it must be to a qualifying organization (which is the same as for charitable donations as itemized deductions), it must be made by 12/31 (2021 this year), and appropriate records must be kept. As with itemized deductions, you can check whether the organization qualifies using the IRS’s Tax Exempt Organization Search. A $300 or $600 deduction may not sound like a lot, but many people have already made, or are about to make, some cash contributions for friends, colleagues, or family members that are raising money for various organizations. If you’re going to make the contribution regardless of the tax benefit, you might as well take the tax benefits that are available. In most cases, substantiation simply requires an acknowledgement from the organization (including stating that you received no benefits for your donation) and a cancelled check or credit card statement. (For detailed record keeping requirements and special cases, see Charitable Contributions – Deductions & Recordkeeping in the blog archives.) So save those “thanks for your contribution” acknowledgement emails and keep a running list of your cash donations this year, whether you itemize or not. They will come in handy to the tune of up to $300 or $600 in deductions at tax prep time.