Not necessarily. Charitable donations by themselves will not create a refund. If you donated money to charity in order to receive a tax benefit you would need to itemize your expenses. To do this cash donations (limit of 50% of your AGI), plus mortgage interest, property taxes, medical expenses in excess of 7.5% of your AGI, job-expenses in excess of 2% of your AGI, plus the rest of your Schedule A deductions would have to be greater than your standard deduction.
The standard deductions are based on your filing status and are as follows
- Single or Married Filing Separately $6,350
- Married Filing Jointly $12,700
- Head of Household $9,350
So, if you donated money to charity and all of your itemized expenses were not greater than the standard deduction for your filing status you would not see a benefit for this. Charitable donations that exceed 50% of your AGI are able to be carried forward.
Additionally, if your taxable income is already at $0 you would not see a benefit from a donation as it will not take your taxable income any lower.
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