All guides
Pick the one closest to the decision in front of you.
Itemizing vs. Standard Deduction for Charitable Gifts
The itemizing vs standard deduction for charitable gifts question decides whether your donation does anything to your tax bill at all — most donors never check.
Read the guide →What Is a Donor-Advised Fund and How Does It Work?
A plain-English answer to what is a donor-advised fund and how it works — the fees, the tax timing, and who it actually makes sense for. No provider names, just the mechanics.
Read the guide →Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) for IRA Owners 70½ and Older
Qualified charitable distributions QCD for IRA owners let donors 70½ and older give directly from a traditional IRA and exclude the amount from taxable income — here's exactly how it works.
Read the guide →How to Vet a Charity: Overhead Ratio and Beyond
How to vet a charity overhead ratio and beyond — why a low overhead number isn't automatically a good sign, plus the scam red flags worth knowing before you give.
Read the guide →Donating Appreciated Stock and Property Instead of Cash
Donating appreciated stock and property instead of cash can be meaningfully more tax-efficient than writing a check — here's the mechanics of why, and when it applies.
Read the guide →Recurring vs. One-Time Giving: The Tradeoffs for Donors and Charities
Recurring vs one time giving tradeoffs go both ways — what's easier to budget for you isn't automatically what's most useful to the charity, and vice versa.
Read the guide →Employer Matching Gift Programs: How They Work and How to Use Yours
Employer matching gift programs how they work — how to find out if you're eligible, the common restrictions, and why most eligible employees never actually claim the match.
Read the guide →Recordkeeping Requirements for Charitable Tax Deductions
Recordkeeping requirements for charitable tax deductions cover the $250 acknowledgment threshold, non-cash donation rules, and when Form 8283 and an appraisal are required.
Read the guide →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.