Is there a 35% cap on charitable deductions in 2026?
Only in the top bracket. From 2026, if your taxable income reaches the 37% bracket, itemized deductions are trimmed so that a dollar given saves at most about 35 cents.
The rule
The top federal rate is 37%, which used to make a dollar given worth 37 cents of tax to someone in that bracket. From 2026 the law trims itemized deductions for those people, so each dollar is worth at most about 35 cents.
It starts where the 37% bracket starts: taxable income over $640,600 for single filers and heads of household, or $768,700 on a joint return. The IRS’s worksheet takes 5.4% of your itemized deductions, or of how far your income goes past that line, whichever is less, off your deductions.
Everyone else is unaffected. In the 22% bracket a dollar given still saves 22 cents.
- Without itemizing
- Doesn’t apply
- If you itemize
- At most about 35 cents a dollar, in the top bracket
- What to keep
- Nothing beyond your usual records; it is worked out on the return.
- Watch for
- The trim applies to every itemized deduction, such as mortgage interest and state and local taxes, not only gifts.
- It is separate from the 0.5% floor. Someone in the top bracket meets both.
Checked on October 2, 2026 against Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax and Rev. Proc. 2025-32. An estimate for your records, not tax advice.
Federal tax only. States set their own rules for gifts.
Keep every gift with its receipt.
From 2026, up to $1,000 of cash gifts counts even without itemizing. Reimburse keeps each gift with the charity’s receipt, asks for the paper the IRS wants, and shows what it puts back.