Now that the 2025 tax filing season is in the books, you may find yourself concerned that you left money on the table—if you used the standard deduction. If so, you are not alone. A majority of American taxpayers choose the standard deduction.

Granted, there were changes last year in our tax system that allowed deductions of larger amounts for some expenses—such as state and local taxes and additional interest on certain mortgages—but that still was not enough for most people to forgo the standard deduction. Nevertheless, there are scenarios that create opportunities to secure tax savings that you may benefit from depending on your circumstances and your ability to be flexible. Consider these options for the future:

New deduction starting this year. This year nonitemizers who make cash gifts to support the missions of qualifying charitable organizations like ours can claim deductions of up to $1,000 per taxpayer. While gifts to us qualify, gifts to donor-advised funds and most private foundations generally do not.

Accumulate enough deductions to surpass the threshold. Many taxpayers who have deductible expenses that come close to the threshold for benefiting from itemizing choose to “bunch” expenses they can control into one year to realize additional savings that year. Perhaps the best way to do that is with your charitable giving. For example, you could make gifts planned for this year and next year all this year then skip the gift next year. This would generate additional tax savings the first year, and you would pay no additional tax the next year because you would be able to claim the standard deduction.

Use appreciated stock you have owned for more than one year to fund your charitable giving plans. This plan is a winner on many fronts. If you do itemize, you will be able to deduct the full current fair-market value of the stock. In addition, you avoid paying tax on any amount the stock has appreciated—a significant tax savings whether or not you itemize—and we would pay no tax on the appreciation.

Special benefit for seniors. Taxpayers aged 70½ or older who have individual retirement accounts can transfer funds from their IRAs directly to us without the amount of the distribution being treated as taxable income. When the IRA holder reaches the age at which he or she must take required minimum distributions (currently 73), any of these qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) reduce the amount of otherwise taxable distributions they must take each year. Qualifying IRA owners may make QCDs of up to $111,000 in 2026.

This is just a sample of the benefits of effective charitable planning. If you would like to discuss ways this kind of planning can benefit you, please contact us.