Every four years, America holds a Presidential election…and early the following year, many American taxpayers make an unwelcome discovery—the political donations they made to their preferred candidates are not tax-deductible.
US private citizens are legally permitted to contribute up to $3,300 per candidate during the most recent election cycle, plus significantly more to national political party committees and political action committees (PACs). In 2024, many people did just that—billions of dollars were donated to politicians and political causes…and more than a few of those donors expected to receive a nice tax break in exchange for their generosity—after all, charitable donations are tax-deductible, so it’s not unreasonable to imagine that political donations must be deductible as well.
Surprise—they’re not!
Political campaigns, PACs and other political organizations and lobby groups are not classified as 501(c)(3) charitable organizations by the IRS, so donations to these organizations do not qualify as tax-deductible charitable donations. That’s true whether a donor gives cash, goods or his/her time.
What to do: If it’s important to you that your donations are tax-deductible, don’t donate to politicians, PACs or lobby groups. Instead, give to qualifying 501(c)(3) charitable organizations that do work that’s in line with your beliefs. While these donations might not help your preferred candidates get elected, they could at least help accomplish related goals. Confirm that the nonprofits that you select are 501(c)(3)s before making donations. The IRS has a tax exempt organization search at IRS.gov/charities-non-profits/tax-exempt-organization-search.
Also keep in mind: While in theory donations to 501(c)(3) organizations are tax-deductible, it isn’t practical for most taxpayers to deduct them. To deduct a qualifying charitable donation, a taxpayer must itemize his/her deductions—and that’s something that only around 10% of taxpayers currently do. The standard deduction may be higher than certain amounts that would be on Schedule A (itemized deductions) for taxpayers who don’t pay state taxes or have low state taxes, etc.
But itemizing might become more common beginning in the 2026 tax year, depending on forthcoming changes to the Tax Code, and taxpayers who make large charitable donations are more likely than most to find that itemizing makes sense for them. If donation deductibility is a major concern, ask your tax preparer to confirm that you’re likely to itemize that year before donating.
Also be aware that even if you do itemize and your contributions are to qualifying 501(c)(3) charitable organizations, the amount that you can deduct is the amount of your gift to the charitable organization minus the value of anything that that organization gives you in return. If you receive tickets to a show or a dinner as a thank you, for example, the value of that item must be subtracted from the value of your donation when you calculate your tax deduction. Most 501(c)(3)s send forms to donors that cite the size of the donation…the value of any gift received…and clearly state that the organization is a 501(c)(3)s. Save this form with your tax records.
