GREENSBORO, N.C. — What happens if I donate my stimulus money? How will it help me with next year's taxes? The answer is...it depends on how you file your taxes.
“If they donate to a qualified charity, while it's admirable, it may or may not be deductible and by that I mean if their donation of the stimulus and their other itemized deductions don't exceed the standard amount, then they may not get a tax benefit from it,” explains Kevin Robinson of Robinson Tax and Accounting Services.
If you're looking for a tax benefit to donating your stimulus money or any money to charity, you have to itemize your taxes.
And the only benefit to itemizing your taxes is if you have more deductions than the standard deduction. It changes a bit every year, but for example, the standard deduction for a single person last year was $12,200 and $24,400 for married folks filing jointly.
So, all your deductions; charitable donations, home interest, it all has to be more than the deduction to make it count.