Carryover
Charitable contributions you could not deduct this year because of a percentage limit, carried forward to future years.
If a percentage limitation stops you from deducting your full contribution in the year you made it, the excess is generally not lost. Publication 526 devotes a section to carryovers, including a heading for the carryover of capital gain property, and sets out how carried-forward amounts are applied in later years. Publication 561 is the valuation publication and does not cover carryovers at all, so this is a Publication 526 question.
Carryovers are one of the strongest arguments for keeping donation records that survive a change of software. A carried-forward amount can matter years after the bag went to the thrift store, and only your own records tie it back to the property you actually gave.
Sources
- Publication 526 (2025), Charitable Contributions, full textIRS, IRS publication
Definitions describe the rule as published. They are not tax advice, and almost every threshold above has an exception attached to it in the underlying publication. Confirm anything that affects a return with a qualified tax professional.
Related terms
AGI limit (percentage limitation)
A ceiling on charitable deductions expressed as a percentage of adjusted gross income, varying by gift type and recipient.
Automatic revocation
Loss of tax-exempt status for failing to file a required annual return or notice for three consecutive years.
Capital gain property
Donated property that would have produced a long-term capital gain if you had sold it instead of giving it away.
Group exemption ruling
A ruling under which a parent organization's exemption covers affiliated subordinates that are not individually listed.
Values with the source attached
DeductiBee applies a cited fair-market-value range to everything you donate, keeps the photo with the record, and exports a Form 8283 worksheet when you file.
