Limits on Deductions

If your total contributions for the year are 20% or less of your adjusted gross income, you do not need to read this section. The limits discussed here do not apply to you.

The amount of your deduction may be limited to either 20%, 30%, or 50% of your adjusted gross income, depending on the type of property you give and the type of organization you give it to. These limits are described below.

If your contributions are more than any of the limits that apply, see Carryovers, under How To Figure Your Deduction When Limits Apply, in Publication 526.

50% Limit

This limit applies to the total of all charitable contributions you make during the year. This means that your deduction for charitable contributions cannot be more than 50% of your adjusted gross income for the year.

The 50% limit is the only limit that applies to gifts to organizations listed below under 50% limit organizations. But there is one exception. The 30% limit also applies to such gifts if they are gifts of capital gain property for which you figure your deduction using fair market value without reduction for appreciation. (See 30% Limit, later.)

50% limit organizations. You can ask any organization whether it is a 50% limit organization and most will be able to tell you. Or you may check IRS Publication 78. The following is a partial list of the types of organizations that are 50% limit organizations.

1. Churches, and conventions or associations of churches.
2. Educational organizations with a regular faculty and curriculum that normally have a regularly enrolled student body attending classes on site.
3. Hospitals and certain medical research organizations associated with these hospitals.
4. Publicly supported charities.
5. Private operating foundations.
6. Private nonoperating foundations that make qualifying distributions of 100% of contributions within 2 months following the year they receive the contribution.
7. Certain private foundations whose contributions are pooled in a common fund, the income and principal of which are paid to public charities.

30% Limit

This limit applies to the following contributions.

• Gifts of capital gain property to 50% limit organizations. (For other gifts of capital gain property, see 20% Limit, later.) However, the 30% limit does not apply when you choose to reduce the fair market value of the property by the amount that would have been long-term capital gain if you had sold the property. Instead, only the 50% limit applies. For more information, see the rules for electing the 50% limit for capital gain property under How To Figure Your Deduction When Limits Apply in Publication 526.
• Gifts (other than gifts of capital gain property--see 20% Limit, later) for the use of any organization.
• Gifts (other than capital gain property--see 20% Limit, later) to all qualified organizations other than 50% limit organizations. This includes gifts to veterans’ organizations, fraternal societies, nonprofit cemeteries, and certain private nonoperating foundations.

20% Limit

This limit applies to all gifts of capital gain property to or for the use of qualified organizations other than gifts of capital gain property to 50% limit organizations.

Carryovers

You can carry over your contributions that you are not able to deduct in the current year because they exceed your adjusted-gross-income limits. You can deduct the excess in each of the next 5 years until it is used up, but not beyond that time. For more information, see Carryovers in Publication 526.

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