Charities often claim that charitable contributions can be deducted for federal income tax purposes, but this is not true. Charitable contributions are currently allowed as itemized deductions, with over 90% of all filers using the standard deduction. For 2025, a married filer can claim $31,500 and a single filer claims $15,750, higher for seniors. The exception is a "qualified charitable distribution" (QCD), a direct transfer from an IRA to a qualified charity, which does not require itemization. The QCD allows the IRA distribution to be nontaxable and does not requires the taxpayer to itemize deductions. In 2026, a limited deduction will be allowed for those who do not itemize, $1,000 for a single taxpayer and $2,000 if married filing jointly. However, a new tax credit for gifts to gifts to scholarship-granting organizations will be introduced in 2027.