Giving Tuesday Is December 1: The $1,000 Charity Deduction Most People Don't Know They Have

New federal charitable giving rules apply to gifts made in 2026, not 2027. In this episode, Derek Wu explains how the changes work, who benefits, and where your December gift should go, so you can make a decision in about five minutes. Giving Tuesday falls on December 1 this year, and gifts made by the end of December count for 2026. The right move depends on two answers: whether you take the standard deduction or itemize, and how your gift is made. Listeners will learn how the new rules treat each group and what to check before giving. Standard-deduction filers: a deduction of up to $1,000 for cash gifts ($2,000 for joint filers), which is permanent and not inflation-indexed. Itemizers: a 0.5%-of-income floor applies. For example, with $200,000 in adjusted gross income, the first $1,000 of giving earns no itemized deduction, so a $750 gift counts for nothing when itemized but still qualifies for the non-itemizer deduction. Larger gifts: in a $3,000 gift example, only the $2,000 above the floor counts for itemizers. The episode also covers the 35% cap on the benefit for top-bracket taxpayers. Where to give: give cash directly to the charity. Gifts to donor-advised funds and private non-operating foundations do not qualify for the non-itemizer deduction, though DAF gifts can remain deductible for itemizers with proper acknowledgment. Recordkeeping: keep the receipt for every gift. The episode closes with a simple two-branch decision tree you can apply before year-end. Made a decision? That's a win. Subscribe so you're ready for the next one. Got a money choice you're stuck on? Drop it in the reviews, and it might get the coin-flip treatment next week.