COVID-19 is crushing the economy and, predictably, reducing donations to some charitable organizations as many individuals have less money to give.
To encourage charitable donations, the recently passed CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act is creating new tax breaks, even for those who do not itemize their deductions.
The new charitable deduction, $300 per taxpayer ($600 for married couples) can be taken when 2020 tax returns are filed next year, for those using the standard deduction.
The donations must be in cash (no property like clothing or household items) and donations to a donor advised fund do not qualify.
Taxpayers will not be required to provide documentation when filing their returns, but the IRS does require that a record be kept.
Donations must be made to 501(c)(3) organizations such as Greenbelt.
In the past, you would have to itemize deductions to get a tax break for charitable giving. For 2020, it's the other way around—if you itemize, you can't take this new deduction.
Individuals who do itemize their deductions will be able to deduct charitable contributions up to 100 percent of their adjusted gross income, up from the current 60 percent