Charitable Contribution Limits

Below are guidelines on charitable contribution limits for tax deductions of charitable contributions. Not all charitable contributions are tax deductible. Few charitable contributions are 100% tax deductible. However, many charitable contributions give donors tax benefits and if there are too much charitable contribution in one year, the taxpayer can carry forward or rollover the excess charitable contributions for the next tax years. For more detail on charitable contribution tax deduction limits, see Charitable Contribution tax deduction limits.

What are the Limits on charitable deductions?

If your total contributions for the year are 20% or less of your AGI you do not need info below. For charitable contributions of less than 20% of your adjusted gross income, there is no limit. The amount  of your deduction is limited to 50% of your AGI and may be limited to 30% or 20% of your AGI depending on the:

• type of property you give and
• the type of organization you give it to.

These charitable contribution tax deduction limits are described below.

If your charitable contributions are more than any of the limits that apply, you can carryover the excess charitable contributions for the next 5 years for tax deduction purposes.

50% charitable contribution limit

The 50% charitable contribution limit applies to the total of all charitable contributions you make during the year. This means that your tax deduction for charitable contributions cannot be more than 50% of your adjusted gross income or AGI for the year.

30% charitable contribution limit

A 30% charitable contribution tax deduction limit applies to the following gifts:

• gifts to all qualified organizations other than 50% limit organizations. This includes gifts to:
  • veterans organizations,
  • fraternal societies,
  • nonprofit cemeteries, and
  • certain private nonorperating foundations
• gifts for the use of any organization. However if these gifts are of capital gain property, they are subject to the 20% limit rather than 30%.

Amounts you spend on behalf of a student living with you are subject to the 30% limit. These amounts are considered a contribution for the use of a qualified organization.

20% charitable contribution limit

This 20% lowest charitable tax deduction limit applies to all gifts of capital gain property to or for the use of qualified organization (other than gifts of capital gain property to 50% limit organizations)

Carryover of excess charitable contributions

you can carryover your charitable contributions that you are not able to deduct in the current year because they exceed your AGI limits. You can deduct the excess in each of the next 5 years until it is used up but not beyond that time. See IRS tax Publication 526 Carryovers.