06/03/2026
Last week I had the privilege of speaking at the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, joining Coastal Hospice for an event on charitable giving and tax planning.
The passage of the OBBBA has meaningfully changed the landscape in 2026 and the changes cut in two different directions depending on how much you give.
For standard deduction filers, there's genuinely good news. For the first time since the pandemic-era provisions expired, non-itemizers can deduct up to $1,000 (single) or $2,000 (married filing jointly) in cash gifts directly on their return, no Schedule A required. For a lot of households, that's a real, tangible tax benefit from giving that simply didn't exist last year. Keep track of all those cash gifts!
For larger givers, the picture is more nuanced. Itemizers now face a 0.5% of AGI floor before any charitable deduction kicks in, plus a 35% cap on the tax benefit for high-income donors. That doesn't mean giving is less worthwhile, it means it has to be more thoughtful. Strategies like qualified charitable distributions, donor-advised funds, bunching, appreciated securities, and for those with significant assets - charitable remainder and lead trusts become more important when the straightforward deduction is squeezed.
The CFES and Coastal Hospice put on a wonderful event, it was a great opportunity to dig into all of it. The work these organizations fund in this community is hard to put a number on, and that's kind of the point.
