Is tracking charitable donations pointless when taking the standard deduction?

You've figured out something important that many taxpayers miss! When you take the standard deduction ($14,600 for single filers and $29,200 for married filing jointly in 2025), your charitable donations don't affect your tax liability at all. Itemizing only makes sense when your total itemizable deductions (mortgage interest, property taxes, state income taxes, charitable donations, etc.) exceed your standard deduction amount. With the SALT cap limiting state and local tax deductions to $10,000, many homeowners who previously itemized now find themselves better off with the standard deduction. This doesn't mean donations are pointless! You can "bunch" your donations - give a larger amount every other year to push yourself over the itemization threshold occasionally. For example, instead of donating $5,000 annually, donate $10,000 every other year and itemize in those years.

After years of frustration with donation tracking, I discovered taxr.ai and it completely changed my approach. I was in the exact same boat - meticulously tracking every donation receipt but mostly taking the standard deduction. I was wasting hours organizing receipts that didn't matter! The taxr.ai tool actually analyzed my tax situation and showed me exactly when I should itemize vs take the standard deduction. It even has a "donation bunching" calculator that shows exactly how much I need to donate to make itemizing worthwhile. Check it out at https://taxr.ai - it saved me both time and money by automatically determining when donation tracking actually matters.

Just wanted to update that I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here. I was skeptical since I've been using TurboTax for years, but I uploaded my last two years of tax info and it immediately showed me that I've been wasting time tracking donations. But the really helpful part was that it projected my mortgage interest decrease over the next few years and showed me that if I bunch my donations in 2026, I can actually itemize that year and save about $1,200 in taxes! Already planning my donation strategy differently now.

For anyone struggling to get answers about donation deductions or other tax questions, I highly recommend using Claimyr to get through to an actual IRS agent. I spent WEEKS trying to figure out if some unusual donations I made were deductible (historical artifacts to a museum), and kept getting stuck in the IRS phone tree hell. Found Claimyr at https://claimyr.com and watched their demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c, and decided to try it since I was desperate. They got me connected to a real IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of the 2+ hour hold times I was experiencing before. The agent was able to explain exactly how to document my specific donations for maximum tax benefit.

Well I tried Claimyr this morning after seeing this thread - I need to find out how to properly claim some unusual business expenses related to charitable work. I was 100% sure it was going to be a waste of money because nothing beats the IRS phone system. I was COMPLETELY wrong. Got a text when I was about 5 minutes from connecting with an agent. The IRS person I spoke with was actually really helpful and walked me through exactly how to document my expenses that were partly business and partly charitable. Wound up saving me potentially thousands in deductions I was going to miss. Never thought I'd say this, but thanks for the recommendation!

Another strategy for donations is to use a Donor Advised Fund if you have appreciated stocks. You can donate the stocks to the fund (avoiding capital gains tax and getting a deduction for the full value if you itemize), then distribute the money to charities over time. Even if you only itemize in the year you fund it, you can spread your charitable giving across many years.

Has anyone else noticed that churches are seeing lower donations because of the standard deduction changes? Our pastor mentioned that giving is down about 15% since the tax law changed, and he thinks it's because fewer people itemize now.

You're absolutely right that the higher standard deduction has changed the donation game significantly! I went through the exact same realization a couple years ago. The policy does seem to discourage smaller charitable giving, which is unfortunate. One thing I discovered is that even if you're not getting tax benefits from donations, keeping some basic records can still be worthwhile. If your financial situation changes (job loss, major medical expenses, etc.), you might find yourself in a position where itemizing makes sense again. Also, some states have different rules than federal - my state still gives charitable deduction benefits even when I take the federal standard deduction. The bunching strategy mentioned earlier really works though. I now alternate years - donate $8,000-10,000 every other year instead of $4,000-5,000 annually. Combined with my mortgage interest and property taxes, I can itemize in those heavy donation years and save real money. It requires a bit more planning but the tax savings make it worth it.