Does a donation on December 31 count for this year?
Yes. A gift counts in the year you make it: a card charged, a check mailed or a text gift sent by December 31 counts for that year, even if the charity cashes it in January.
The rule
You deduct a gift in the year you actually make it. A check counts on the day you mail it. A gift on a credit card counts in the year it is charged, even though you pay the card later. A gift by text message counts in the year you send it, if it is charged to your phone bill.
A gift through a pay-by-phone bank account counts on the day the bank pays it, which your statement shows, so leave a few days if you give that way at the end of December.
Stock counts when it is delivered: the day an endorsed certificate is mailed to the charity, or the day the shares are moved into the charity’s name.
A promise isn’t a gift. A note you give a charity counts only as you make the payments.
An example at a 22% federal bracket: $250 charged on December 31 counts for that year and is $55 back.
- Without itemizing
- Yes, cash up to $1,000, or $2,000 joint
- If you itemize
- Yes, above 0.5% of your income
- What to keep
- The card statement or bank record showing the date, and the charity’s receipt.
Checked on October 2, 2026 against Publication 526, Charitable Contributions. 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.