Do I get to deduct my tithes to the church

[janeteidson]

Money given to the church each month

[xmasbaby0]

Enter your tithes to the church as a charity donation.

Federal>Deductions and Credits>Charitable Donations>Donations to Charity

Charity donations go on Schedule A with your other itemized deductions such as mortgage interest and property  tax, etc. Unless your itemized deductions exceed your standard deduction, the charity donation will not affect your tax due or refund.

[Karis_F]

It depends. If your itemized deductions are higher than your standard deduction, you can include charitable contributions as itemized deductions on Schedule A.

The Standard Deduction is $15,750 (Single), $31,500 (Married Filing Jointly) and $23,625 (Head of Household).

For tax year 2026, there will be an above-the line charitable deduction of up to $1,000 ($2,000 married filing jointly), whether or not you itemize deductions.

Here is a TurboTax article on charitable contributions for more information.

[wbradbur]

So I plugged in my $2,000 charitable donation into TurboTax, I am taking Std Deduction, and Big Beautiful Bill says I should get a credit for this.  Turbo Tax did NOT change the amount of tax I owe.  What gives???

[DoninGA]

@wbradbur A charitable donation of cash can only be entered as an itemized deduction on Schedule A for the 2025 tax return. 

The charitable cash donation will be available on the 2026 tax return when using the Standard Deduction.

[DawnC]

The charitable deduction for standard deduction takers starts this year (2026), so it will be applied to next year's tax return, @wbradbur   The return you are preparing now is for tax year 2025, so there is no deduction for standard deduction takers.    Beginning with tax year 2026, if you do not itemize, you may deduct up to $1,000 ($2,000 if filing jointly) of your cash contributions to certain qualified organizations.   See Topic 506