Charitable Deduction Calculator — AGI Limits (2025)
Estimate deductible charitable gifts under the 2025 AGI limits — 60% for cash, 30% for appreciated property — plus 5-year carryover. TY2025, not tax advice.
About Charitable Deduction Calculator
A charitable deduction calculator is a tool that estimates how much of your charitable giving you can deduct this year under the IRS adjusted gross income (AGI) percentage limits. Cash gifts to qualifying public charities are generally deductible up to 60% of your AGI, while gifts of long-term appreciated capital-gain property, such as stock, are limited to 30% of AGI. Contributions above the limit are not lost — they carry forward for up to five years. This calculator applies those limits to your AGI and gift amounts, estimates the deductible portion and any carryover, and can approximate your tax savings from a marginal rate. It is a simplified TY2025 estimate, not tax advice.
Use cases
- Check whether a large gift exceeds the AGI limit. If you plan an unusually large donation relative to your income, part of it may not be deductible this year. Entering your AGI and gift shows how much falls within the 60% cash or 30% property limit and how much carries to future years, so a generous gift can be timed or split to capture the deduction sooner.
- Compare donating cash vs appreciated stock. Giving long-term appreciated stock can avoid capital-gains tax and still earn a deduction, but it faces the lower 30%-of-AGI limit rather than 60% for cash. Seeing the deductible amount under each limit helps you weigh which asset to give, though this tool does not calculate the separate capital-gains tax you avoid — a key part of the real comparison.
- Estimate the tax savings from a donation. A deduction is only worth your marginal tax rate — a $1,000 gift saves $220 at a 22% rate, not $1,000. Adding your marginal rate turns the deductible amount into an approximate tax saving, giving a realistic sense of the after-tax cost of giving. Because it uses one flat rate, it will not capture bracket effects or credits.
- Decide whether itemizing is worth it. Charitable deductions only help if your itemized deductions beat the standard deduction; below that, a gift changes nothing on your return. Seeing the deductible amount lets you add it to your other itemized deductions and judge whether itemizing pays off this year, or whether bunching gifts into one year would push you over the standard-deduction threshold.
- Plan multi-year giving with carryover. When a gift exceeds this year’s limit, the excess carries forward for up to five years. The estimated carryover figure helps you plan how a big donation will deduct across several returns, so you can pair it with expected income in later years and avoid leaving deduction value unused before the five-year carryover window closes.
How it works
- Enter your AGI. Provide your adjusted gross income — the base the percentage limits are calculated from.
- Enter your cash gifts. Add cash contributions to qualifying public charities; these use the 60%-of-AGI limit.
- Enter appreciated-property gifts. Add the fair-market value of long-term appreciated assets like stock; these use the lower 30%-of-AGI limit.
- Optionally add a marginal rate. Enter your marginal tax rate to estimate the tax savings from the deductible amount.
- Read the deductible and carryover. The tool shows how much is deductible now, how much carries forward up to five years, and the approximate tax saving.
Examples
Input: AGI $100,000, $70,000 cash gift
Output: $60,000 deductible now, $10,000 carries forward
Cash is capped at 60% of AGI; the excess $10,000 carries up to five years.
Input: AGI $80,000, $30,000 appreciated stock
Output: $24,000 deductible now, $6,000 carries forward
Appreciated property is capped at 30% of AGI ($24,000 here).
Input: AGI $90,000, $9,000 cash, 24% marginal rate
Output: Fully deductible; ≈ $2,160 tax saving
$9,000 is under the 60% limit, so all of it deducts; savings are the deduction times your rate.
Frequently asked questions
How much of a charitable donation can I deduct?
For 2025, cash gifts to qualifying public charities are generally deductible up to 60% of your AGI, and long-term appreciated capital-gain property up to 30% of AGI. Amounts above the limit carry forward for up to five years.
Do I need to itemize to claim it?
Yes. Charitable deductions only reduce your tax if you itemize on Schedule A. If your standard deduction is larger than your total itemized deductions, a charitable gift will not change your tax.
What is the difference between the 60% and 30% limits?
The 60%-of-AGI limit applies to cash donations to public charities. The 30%-of-AGI limit applies to gifts of long-term appreciated property such as stock. Different charity types and asset types can carry other limits this simplified tool does not model.
What happens to gifts above the limit?
They are not lost. The excess carries forward for up to five tax years, deductible in a later year subject to that year’s AGI limits. If unused after five years, the remaining carryover expires.
How do the 60% and 30% limits interact?
When you make both cash and property gifts, the limits stack and offset in ways the IRS rules define precisely. This estimate applies each limit separately and does not fully model that interaction, so a mixed-gift year may deduct differently than shown.
Does this calculate the capital-gains tax I avoid by donating stock?
No. Donating appreciated stock can avoid capital-gains tax, which is a real benefit, but this tool only estimates the income-tax deduction. The avoided gains tax is separate and not included here.
Is this tax advice?
No. It is a simplified TY2025 estimate using the main AGI percentage limits. Charity type, asset type, valuation rules, and substantiation requirements vary, so confirm any real gift with a qualified tax professional.
Pro tips
- Only itemizers benefit — compare your itemized total to the standard deduction before counting on a charitable deduction.
- Donating long-term appreciated stock can avoid capital-gains tax on top of the deduction, even at the lower 30% limit.
- Bunching several years of giving into one year can push you over the standard deduction so itemizing pays off.
- Keep receipts and written acknowledgements — gifts of $250 or more need contemporaneous documentation to be deductible.
- Confirm the charity is an IRS-qualified organization; gifts to individuals or non-qualified groups are not deductible.
Reviewed by Ahsan Mahmood · Last updated 2026-07-08 · Part of ZTools.
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