Congress Passes Tax Bill Reshaping Charitable Giving Nationwide

President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law in July 2025, introducing significant changes to the U.S. tax code that impact charitable giving and nonprofit organizations. The legislation creates a new universal charitable deduction for non-itemizers, allowing individuals to deduct up to $1,000 and married couples up to $2,000 for donations, but imposes a minimum giving threshold of 0.5% of adjusted gross income for itemizers to claim deductions. It also introduces stricter limits on corporate charitable deductions, requiring contributions to exceed 1% of taxable income for deductibility, and increases excise taxes on private college and university endowments, particularly targeting those with large per-student endowments. These changes are projected to reduce individual and corporate giving by billions annually, potentially leading to an estimated $11 billion loss in philanthropic donations, which could heavily impact sectors like the nonprofit arts community. Additional provisions include expanded excise taxes on compensation over $1 million for all employees of tax-exempt organizations and a permanent 60% limit on cash gifts to public charities. While some proposed harsher tax measures were removed before the bill's passage, the new tax environment requires nonprofits and donors to adjust their financial and philanthropic strategies.