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Due to various circumstances I have a huge amount of money stock piled and available to donate to charity this year. I'd like to maximize the amount donated, which means maximizing my tax savings as that is more money I can donate next year.

My current salary would put me over the AMT limit, but since I just got the raise I shouldn't actually have an income for this year sufficent to hit the AMT. I also donate enough to charity that I expect to come close to the 60% that I can claim next year and subsequant years even if I don't roll over money from this year.

It looks like there is a 1 time exception this year for charitable donations that allow me to donate a full 100% of my salary (or rather income, which is lower then my current salary) to charity this year? My plan was simple to donate all of it, but considering how much money that is I wanted to check if there are any catches I should be aware of before I donate the money this month?

And if I really donate enough money to bring my taxable income down to 0 does that mean I don't need to do my taxes this year ;) :P

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  • Sorry, Charlie; the charity deduction increase to 100%AGI (by CARES PubL 116-136 sec 2205) was for last year (calendar 2020). But at least you aren't a tuna :-) FWIW if you have money in or movable to trad IRA, after you reach 70.5 you can do a QCD which transfers IRA money, up to $100k/yr regardless of AGI, to a qualified charity tax-free, and use the stockpiled cash for living expenses in place of the IRA money that was nominally intended for them.
    – dave_thompson_085
    Commented Dec 1, 2021 at 4:48
  • @dave_thompson_085 see this is why i asked. I would have felt rather stupid if I donated 100% now and found out in 2 months I could only claim 60% of that. If you posted this with an answer I'd accept it since it addressed exactly what I need. I won't even penalize you for forcing me to look up a bunch of acronyms :P
    – dsollen
    Commented Dec 1, 2021 at 16:15

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And if I really donate enough money to bring my taxable income down to 0 does that mean I don't need to do my taxes this year ;) :P

The IRS will see the W-2's, and 1099 that imply that you make a significant amount of money. They will not have any forms from the charity that tell them that you donated any money. Therefore the IRS will be looking for your tax return, and will expect to see significant amount of taxes paid. Without a form they won't know about your charitable donations.

Also if you had any money withheld this year you will want to file to get that money back.

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  • And even for things where the IRS does have information reporting, the filing requirement is (still) based on gross income, after exemptions but before any adjustments, deductions, or credits.
    – dave_thompson_085
    Commented Dec 1, 2021 at 4:48

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