What are the 2025 IRS AGI limits for charitable deductions from cash gifts to public charities?
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Executive summary
For tax year 2025, cash gifts to public charities remain deductible up to 60% of a taxpayer’s adjusted gross income (AGI), a limit the IRS and multiple tax-advice organizations confirm and recent legislation made permanent through 2025 and beyond; qualified contributions and special categories (like long‑term appreciated property) follow different percentage ceilings (IRS [1]; NationalTaxReports p1_s6). Donors should also note existing carryforward rules and the looming 2026 changes that introduce a 0.5% AGI floor and other limits that may change the net value of deductions for future years (CNN [2]; NPTrust [1]0).
1. The plain number: 60% of AGI for cash gifts to public charities in 2025
The basic, operative rule for calendar-year 2025 is straightforward: individuals who itemize may deduct cash gifts to public charities (including many donor‑advised funds and public operating foundations) up to 60% of their AGI for that tax year, as stated by the IRS and reiterated by tax and philanthropic advisors (IRS [1]; NationalTaxReports [3]; VanguardCharitable [1]1).
2. What “public charity” and “cash” mean—and who’s treated differently
That 60% ceiling applies to cash contributions to organizations coded as public charities and certain private operating foundations; contributions to private foundations or gifts of appreciated property often face lower ceilings (commonly 30% for long‑term appreciated assets and 50%/30% distinctions for other organizations), and “cash” here includes checks, electronic payments, and similar liquid gifts but excludes non‑cash property unless different rules apply (IRS [1]; DAFgiving360 p1_s7).
3. Carryforwards and timing strategies that donors are already weighing
If a donor’s cash giving in 2025 exceeds the 60% AGI cap, the excess generally can be carried forward and deducted in up to five subsequent tax years under longstanding IRS rules; several advisory pieces are explicitly urging donors to “front‑load” or bunch contributions into 2025 to lock in full deductibility before the new 2026 floors and caps take effect (CNN [2]; NationalTaxReports [3]; FidelityCharitable [1]4).
4. The policy shift on the horizon: why 2025’s rule may feel temporary even if it isn’t
Although the 60% ceiling was made permanent in recent legislation covering the sunset of earlier law through 2025 and beyond, Congress simultaneously enacted changes that begin in 2026: itemizers will face a 0.5% AGI floor before any deduction is allowed, plus a new 35% cap on the value of itemized deductions for some taxpayers, which can materially reduce the practical benefit of the 60% cap for high earners — this is driving advice to accelerate deductible giving in 2025 (NPTrust [4]; OrangeCountyCF [5]; CNN p1_s2).
5. Practical caveats: QCDs, donor‑advised funds, and recorded evidence
Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) from IRAs, special rules for donor‑advised funds, and substantiation requirements alter outcomes: QCDs up to statutory limits can exclude amounts from taxable income and avoid some deduction rules entirely; donations to DAFs count under the 60% limit but may be treated differently for later grantmaking; and taxpayers must retain contemporaneous receipts for gifts over $250 to substantiate deductions (PlanetarySociety [6]; TheSignatry [7]; VanguardCharitable [1]1).