The new 2026 charitable giving tax incentives are the biggest change to U.S. philanthropy in years. For the first time, both employees and employers have new financial motivations to give — and new rules to follow.
This skimmable checklist breaks down exactly what individuals and companies should do to benefit from the new tax landscape. It’s designed to be extremely practical, easy to copy and paste, and useful for:
- Employees
- CSR leaders
- HR and People teams
- CFOs and Finance leaders
- Workplace giving partners
- Nonprofits educating their supporters
Use it internally, externally, or as part of your employee engagement or CSR communications strategy.
Employee Checklist: How to Take Advantage of the 2026 Charitable Giving Tax Deduction
Starting January 1, 2026, if you take the standard deduction, you can now deduct up to:
- $1,000 in charitable giving (individual filers)
- $2,000 (married filing jointly)
This is your copy-and-paste checklist to get ready.
2026 Employee Giving Checklist
1. Understand what qualifies for the deduction
- Cash donations only (credit card, payroll giving, ACH)
- Gifts to IRS-qualified nonprofits
- Donations made in the 2026 calendar year
All nonprofits listed in Percent Pledge’s Giving Platform are pre-verified, so your donations automatically qualify.
2. Set your 2026 giving goal early
- $1,000 if you file individually
- $2,000 if you file jointly
These numbers now have a clear financial advantage.
3. Consider setting up recurring donations
- $85/month ≈ $1,020 per year
- Ensures you hit the new deduction threshold
- Helps nonprofits budget more reliably
You can give to any cause you care about — and you can discover your passions through the Passion Assessment.
4. Keep donation receipts organized
- Save receipts for every gift
- Keep written acknowledgments for donations over $250
- Download your annual giving summary
Percent Pledge automatically generates and stores IRS-compliant receipts for all your donations, as well as Annual Tax Summaries.
5. Take advantage of workplace matching
- Company matches double your impact
- Matches count toward your employer’s giving goals
- They do not affect your personal deduction — but they increase total dollars to charity
Employees in companies using Percent Pledge’s Matching Gifts get automatic matches, fast processing, and instant documentation.
6. When filing 2026 taxes in 2027, do this:
- Confirm you take the standard deduction
- Report up to $1,000 or $2,000 on the universal charitable deduction line
- Attach receipts if requested
- File as normal — the IRS will provide updated forms
Employer Checklist: How Companies Should Prepare for the 2026 Charitable Giving Rules
In 2026, corporate giving programs are impacted by two new realities:
- Employees have a new personal incentive to give
- Employers now face a 1% floor before corporate donations become deductible
This checklist is designed for CFOs, HR leaders, CSR teams, and People Ops to use in planning.
2026 Employer Giving & CSR Checklist
1. Review your 1% floor exposure
- What is 1% of your projected 2026 taxable income?
- How much of your giving historically fell below that number?
- How much structured giving is needed to exceed the threshold?
2. Update your matching gift policy
- Consider setting the match at $1,000 per employee
- Aligns with employees’ new $1,000/$2,000 personal deduction
- Increases participation and company-wide engagement
- Moves corporate giving closer to the 1% floor
- Predictable and budget-friendly for Finance
Percent Pledge’s Matching Gifts automates all verification, approvals, and matching.
3. Decide how you will structure corporate giving in 2026
Choose one of the three corporate giving strategies:
- Deductibility strategy: Ensure corporate giving exceeds the 1% floor
- Engagement strategy: Focus on employee participation even if giving stays below 1%
- Hybrid strategy: Combine grants + matching gifts to reach the deduction threshold efficiently
For grants, the Grants Management tool simplifies budgeting, approvals, and reporting.
4. Communicate the new tax rules to employees
- Explain the new $1,000/$2,000 deduction clearly
- Share examples of tax savings
- Encourage recurring giving
- Offer talking points to managers
- Add a one-page explainer to onboarding materials
Percent Pledge can provide ready-made communication templates for HR and CSR leaders.
5. Centralize donation tracking and reporting
- Consolidate giving into one system
- Ensure all nonprofits are pre-verified
- Automate receipts
- Provide Finance with clean, auditable reports
- Enable real-time participation and impact tracking
This is where the Percent Pledge Giving Platform becomes essential.
6. Plan workplace giving campaigns around the new incentives
- Use moments like Pride Month, Giving Tuesday, or company values weeks
- Encourage employees to start recurring donations early in the year
- Highlight matching and the new tax rules together
- Use live leaderboards and impact badges to drive participation
Percent Pledge’s Campaigns and Impact Badges help employers run beautiful, high-engagement campaigns that employees love.
7. Meet with your CFO early
- Review corporate giving budget
- Discuss the 1% floor implications
- Align on matching and corporate grants
- Walk through reporting needs
- Agree on a 2026 program structure
This builds partnership between CSR/HR and Finance — which is essential under the new rules.
Final Thoughts
The 2026 charitable tax incentives create meaningful benefits for employees, nonprofits, and companies. But to capture them fully, individuals need clear guidance, and employers need structured giving programs that are easy to understand, easy to manage, and aligned with Finance.
Employees get new tax savings.
Companies get clearer strategy.
Nonprofits get more consistent support.
Everyone wins when giving is simple and well-organized.
If your company wants help preparing for 2026 — or wants ready-made employee communication, matching rules, or campaign support — we’re here to help. Get a demo today.
