Happy New Year!
As we begin 2026, you may be considering making a list of New Year’s resolutions. Many of us include things like eating healthier, exercising more often, or reviewing our financial plans. This year, you may want to include learning about smart ways to make charitable gifts. That might seem like a strange addition to your list, but it can provide special benefits to you as well as the charities you care about, like the Boys and Girls Clubs of East County Foundation.
New Year, New Law
On Dec. 31, 2025, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was scheduled to “sunset” or expire. If that had occurred, virtually every taxpayer would have experienced significant increases in their future income tax bills. Instead, legislation was passed that extended the prior tax laws and added and modified additional provisions to benefit millions of seniors, parents, working families and those who support charities.
The legislation provides a new universal deduction for those who take the standard deduction. Nonitemizer taxpayers will be able to deduct cash gifts to charity of up to $1,000 or $2,000, depending upon whether they file taxes singly or jointly (gifts to donor advised funds are not included in the nonitemizer deduction).
Those who itemize deductions can also trim their tax bill in 2026. Most who itemize will find tax savings from charitable gifts to be close to savings in the past; however, some new rules apply. These new rules are complex, and those who will be affected may wish to consider “bunching” deductions in a certain year to be able to itemize and then use the new nonitemizer deduction in other years.
Other notable changes include almost quadrupling the deduction for state and local taxes (SALT) from $10,000 to $40,000. This means many more taxpayers will itemize deductions. Carefully coordinating “SALT” taxes and bunching charitable gifts can save more taxes.
Other smart ways to give to the Boys and Girls Clubs of East County Foundation include:
· Making large gifts to a donor advised fund or individual charities for bunching purposes.
· Making IRA QCDs for those 70½ or over. These tax-free gifts to qualified charities help avoid any tax on required minimum distributions.
A special acknowledgement
Thank you for being a generous supporter of the Boys and Girls Clubs of East County Foundation— your contributions are positively impacting those we serve.
Contact Us
If you have already included us in your plans, please consider letting us know so we can acknowledge you. Our Executive Director, Forrest Higgins, can be reached at 619-440-1600 or forrest@bgcec.org; thank you!