Can taxpayers deduct charitable donations without itemizing in 2025 and how?

1. How the law treats non‑itemizers: a modest above‑the‑line fix — but not yet in 2025

Congress reinstated an above‑the‑line charitable deduction for non‑itemizers in OBBBA, but the statutory limit — $1,000 for single filers and $2,000 for married filing jointly — does not apply until the 2026 tax year, meaning taxpayers who take the standard deduction on 2025 returns cannot claim that new above‑the‑line benefit yet; reporting and guidance in the immediate aftermath emphasize this future effective date ^{[1] [3] [2]}.

2. 2025 remains an itemizer’s last full year under older rules — why that matters

For the 2025 tax year, charitable gifts remain deductible only if you itemize on Schedule A, and the standard deduction amounts have been indexed upward (for example, roughly $15,750 single and $31,500 joint for 2025), so relatively few taxpayers itemize — but those who do can still claim full charitable deductions for donations made in 2025 before the new 2026 floors and caps take effect ^{[6] [7] [8]}.

3. What changes in 2026 — the floors and caps that make 2025 strategic

Starting in 2026, OBBBA imposes a new 0.5% of AGI “floor” for individual itemizers (donations below 0.5% of AGI aren’t deductible) and caps some itemized deduction benefits for top‑bracket taxpayers (the value of charitable deductions for those in the highest bracket is limited, effectively capturing only up to a 35% tax benefit) — rules designed to reduce revenue loss and reshape donor behavior ^{[4] [3] [9]}.

4. Practical strategies reported by advisors: bunching, DAFs and QCDs

Advisors and nonprofit guides uniformly pitched 2025 as a year to “bunch” gifts (making multiple years’ worth of donations in 2025) so you clear the old itemized threshold and capture the larger deduction before the 0.5% floor hits in 2026; funding a donor‑advised fund (DAF) in 2025 is highlighted repeatedly as a way to lock in the 2025 deduction while distributing to charities later ^{[2] [10] [5]}. Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) from IRAs remain a separate tool for older taxpayers and are discussed as unchanged in character, with planning notes in the professional press ^{[11] [5]}.

5. Who benefits, who loses — divergent impacts across income levels

Lower‑income taxpayers who won’t itemize are slated to gain once the above‑the‑line deduction is available in 2026 ^{[3] [8]}. Higher‑income itemizers face reduced after‑tax value of donations in 2026 because of the cap on the marginal benefit and the 0.5% floor, so many high‑income donors are urged to accelerate large gifts into 2025 to preserve full current‑law benefits ^{[3] [12] [8]}.

6. Limitations of available reporting and remaining open questions

Current reporting makes clear the major programmatic changes and commonly recommended tactics, but available sources do not mention detailed IRS guidance text, specific Treasury forms or step‑by‑step filing instructions for claiming the new above‑the‑line deduction in 2026 — taxpayers should not assume operational details until the IRS issues forms and procedures (available sources do not mention IRS procedural guidance) ^{[1] [2]}.

7. Bottom line and action checklist for donors through year‑end 2025

If you itemize and are considering a large gift, accelerate that giving into 2025 to preserve full deductibility and marginal value (bunching or funding a DAF are the most cited methods); if you don’t itemize and your gifts are small, the new above‑the‑line deduction will help beginning in 2026, so lower‑income donors may prefer to wait — but confirm specifics with a tax advisor and monitor IRS guidance because technical filing rules are not fully detailed in current coverage ^{[2] [5] [3]}.

Sources: See cited reporting above including Tax Foundation, Fidelity Charitable, NPTrust, Jones Walker, Vanguard, NerdWallet and others summarizing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act changes ^{[1] [3] [4] [2] [6] [13] [14]}.