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Using Charitable Giving for Year-End Tax Planning

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When the tax laws changed in 2018, most people no longer had to use the itemized deductions (Schedule A), but found it easier and more beneficial to just use the standard deduction.  Generally, I find that there is a small minority that still itemize.  They usually have a lot of property taxes, large amounts mortgage interest and give a generous amount to charities (such as tithing 10% to their church).

What most people don't know about is that you can use your charitable giving to control the amount of taxes you pay in a particular year.  For example, you can bunch donations into a single year that you usually giver over several years.  On the other hand, if you are expecting to have more income next year, then you'd want to defer some charitable donations and instead make them the following year.