The Illinois CPA Society offers these tips for maximizing the tax benefits of supporting the charities you care about.

CHICAGO, Dec. 1, 2025 – The holiday season is here! As you consider your charitable giving this year, remember there are a few tax-savvy ways to give a charitable gift while gifting yourself a tax break in return. Here are three ways to support the charitable causes you care about:

1. Gift Appreciated Stocks, Mutual Funds or Other Securities: Donating appreciated long-term investments, such as stocks, mutual funds, or other securities, can provide a substantial tax advantage. If you’re a taxpayer who itemizes deductions (instead of electing the standard deduction), you can deduct the full fair market value of the gift (up to 30% of your adjusted gross income) and avoid paying capital gains tax on the appreciation. Be sure to check with your broker about year-end transfer deadlines.
2. Consider Starting a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF): If you regularly give to charity, a DAF offers flexibility and a strong tax benefit. A DAF is structured like an investment account; however, the funds held within it are specifically for your charitable giving. A DAF allows you to consolidate several years’ worth of charitable giving into a single contribution, maximizing your deduction at the time of the contribution. The funds held in the DAF can be invested and distributed at your discretion, making a DAF an excellent tool if you’re planning to itemize your tax deductions and spread out your charitable gifts over time.
3. Make a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD): If you’re age 70½ or older, a QCD allows you to transfer money directly from your qualifying individual retirement accounts to a qualified charity. For 2025, the annual QCD limit is $108,000 for individuals or $216,000 for eligible married couples with separate retirement accounts. While there’s no tax deduction for a QCD, it can satisfy all or part of your required minimum distributions without increasing your taxable income, making a QCD an especially powerful tax and giving strategy.

If you need help making sense of the complexities of charitable giving and its tax impact on you, a CPA—a certified public accountant—can help. And when tax time rolls around, a CPA can help prepare and file your tax return to ensure all eligible credits and deductions available are maximized. The Illinois CPA Society’s free “Find a CPA” directory can help you find the trusted, strategic advisor that’s right for you based on location, types of services needed, and languages spoken. Find your CPA at www.icpas.org/findacpa.