Beginning in 2026, tax filers who claim the standard deduction may be allowed to take a new above-the-line deduction for cash contributions to qualifying charities.

You will not need to itemize deductions to claim this new tax break.

Many people aim to write checks to their favorite charities sometime before Dec. 31, as part of year-end giving. Yet, key tax changes mean you could want to shake things up in 2025.

This year, some quirky new tax rules mean that one group of tax filers might want to give more money in 2025 than they planned. And another group could be better off pushing their cash donations into January.

Yep, nothing is simple when it comes to the new rules in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4.

What to do if you

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