Update on the CARES Act

Your charitable gifts are important to our community in 2021 as people and organizations continue to work toward meeting the needs of our region during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CARES Act of 2020 allows above-the-line deductions of up to $300 for cash charitable gifts per return in 2020 for donors who don’t itemize their taxes. The new bill passed by Congress in December 2020 extends that provision for tax year 2021, now allowing single people to deduct up to $300 and couples to deduct up to $600 for cash charitable gifts even if they don’t itemize. 

This benefit is only available to gifts to public charities, but gifts to donor advised funds are excluded.

The new bill also extends for one year the previous stimulus law’s increased limits on deductible cash charitable contributions for individuals who itemize and for corporations.

• For individuals the cap will remain at 100 percent of adjusted gross income instead of reverting to 60 percent.

• For corporate charitable giving the limit will stay at 25 percent of taxable income.

Also included in the new bill is the extension of PPP loan availability through March 31, 2021, with nonprofits eligible. In order to be eligible for a second loan, recipients must show a 25 percent reduction in gross receipts comparing one quarter of this year to the same quarter last year.

Cash gifts you make in 2021 to the Quad Cities Disaster Recovery Fund may be applied toward the above-the-line charitable deduction, or may be fully deductible if you itemize. You're also making an important and much needed contribution to our region’s continued response and recovery during this time of great challenge and suffering for so many of your neighbors in need.