US charitable deductions apply only if you itemize — most tax filers now take the standard deduction insteadWe are an education site, not a broker, a charity, or a tax preparerThis site covers United States tax rules and figures onlyDonors 70½ and older can sometimes give directly from an IRA and exclude the distribution from taxable incomeA low overhead ratio does not automatically mean a charity is well runUS charitable deductions apply only if you itemize — most tax filers now take the standard deduction insteadWe are an education site, not a broker, a charity, or a tax preparerThis site covers United States tax rules and figures onlyDonors 70½ and older can sometimes give directly from an IRA and exclude the distribution from taxable incomeA low overhead ratio does not automatically mean a charity is well run

Free download

The Tax-Smart Giving Worksheet

This free download walks through the same method used across this site: how to check whether a gift will actually reduce your taxes, when a donor-advised fund or QCD makes sense, how to vet a cause beyond its overhead ratio, and what records to keep for any gift size.

A fillable worksheet to check your itemizing threshold before you assume any deduction
The exact questions to ask before donating to an unfamiliar charity
A plain explainer on donor-advised funds and qualified charitable distributions
Official US sources for verifying charity registration and current tax rules

No payment, no account, no waiting for an email — the PDF downloads the moment you submit.

Guides Free worksheet