Charitable & Gift Tax Planning
Giving to the people and causes you care about can also be one of the most effective ways to lower what you owe — but only if it's planned. How you give, what you give, and when you give can be the difference between a nice gesture and a genuinely tax-smart one. We help individuals and families in Blackwood, New Jersey and across all 50 states give generously and keep more of what's left.
The tax benefits of charitable giving
For 2026, cash gifts to qualified charities are deductible up to 60% of your adjusted gross income (that cap is now permanent). Two rules are new for 2026 and worth knowing:
If you itemize, charitable deductions now apply only above a 0.5% of AGI floor.- If you take the standard deduction, there's a new above-the-line charitable deduction of up to $1,000 (single) or $2,000 (married filing jointly) — so giving can lower your taxes even if you don't itemize.
Our guide goes deeper on
the tax benefits of charitable giving.
Smarter ways to give
The what often matters more than the how much:
Appreciated assets (like stock) — donating them directly can avoid the capital-gains tax you'd owe if you sold first, while still deducting the full value.- Donor-advised funds — give (and deduct) now, decide where it goes later; useful for "bunching" several years of giving into one.
- Qualified charitable distributions — if you're of RMD age, giving directly from an IRA can satisfy your required distribution without adding to your taxable income.
Gift planning and the annual exclusion
Giving to family is its own kind of planning. For 2026 you can give up to $19,000 per recipient ($38,000 for a married couple splitting gifts) with no gift-tax filing, and the lifetime estate-and-gift exemption stands at $15 million per individual / $30 million per married couple. For families with real assets, a plan for gifting over time is one of the highest-leverage moves available.
Who we help
Regular givers who want their generosity to work harder on their taxes, higher earners weighing appreciated-asset or donor-advised strategies, retirees exploring QCDs, and families thinking about passing wealth on tax-efficiently.
How it works
- We look at your giving and your tax picture — what you give, how, and where it fits your year.
- We build a plan — the most tax-effective way to give what you intend, with the timing that helps most.
- We revisit it as the rules and your situation change.
Make your giving count twice
Let's make sure the good you're doing also does the most for your tax situation.
