# Tithes and taxes: what every tither should know before year-end

*URL:* https://christianfinancialadvisors.com/resources/articles/tithe-and-taxes/
*Updated:* 2026-10-30T10:27:30+00:00

How much a tithe lowers your taxes depends on whether you itemize and on the deduction rules that apply from 2026. Three ways to give can cut the bill further: giving from an IRA, giving appreciated stock, and bunching gifts into one year.

A qualified charitable distribution from an IRA requires you to be at least 70½ on the date of the transfer, and the 2026 limit is $111,000 per person.

Years ago I was complaining about my taxes, and Ron Blue stopped me. He asked whether, when we complain about paying taxes, we are not also complaining about God’s provision, since it is that provision that enables us to pay taxes in the first place. He was right, and it changed how I talk about taxes. I still believe in paying no more than the law requires, and I will show you how. This is what we tell the households we serve at Christian Financial Advisors®, and it starts with a plain question: does your tithe lower your tax bill at all?

## Is my tithe tax deductible?

Picture a couple who have paid off everything and live on $100,000 a year. They tithe $10,000. I used this example in 2018 when the standard deduction jumped, and the numbers have moved again. For 2026 the standard deduction is $32,200 for a married couple filing jointly. This couple has little else to itemize, so their tithe will not clear it. The 2026 rules do give people who do not itemize a deduction of up to $2,000 for a married couple, or $1,000 for a single filer, for cash gifts to qualified public charities such as a church. So this couple can deduct up to $2,000 of their $10,000 tithe. Beyond that, the tithe lowers their tax only if they itemize. This is an illustration, not a tax calculation.

What do we tell a couple like this? Look at gathering two years of giving into one year, so the total can clear the standard deduction in the big year. Whether that beats the standard deduction depends on their other deductions, so they should check with their tax preparer. A donor-advised fund can help with the timing, because you take the deduction when you fund it and recommend grants to your church later. Keep in mind that gifts to a donor-advised fund do not count for the new deduction for people who do not itemize.

Here are the rules in four lines, all for the 2026 tax year:

- **If you itemize,** your tithe to your church is deductible, but only gifts above 0.5% of your adjusted gross income count.
- **If you do not itemize,** you can deduct up to $1,000 (single) or $2,000 (married filing jointly) in cash gifts to qualified public charities, such as a church. It does not cover gifts to donor-advised funds or non-cash gifts.
- **A tithe is a deduction, not a credit.** It lowers the income you are taxed on.
- **Keep your records.** You need a written acknowledgment from your church for any single gift of $250 or more, and a bank record or written note from the church for every cash gift.

### Bunching two years of tithes into one

Here is the routine I teach, and it can be repeated every two years. In the first year, give two years of tithes: pay your church ahead, or fund a donor-advised fund and have it send your church a check each month. That bigger year may clear the standard deduction. In the second year, your church still receives its tithe from the fund, and you take the standard deduction. Then you repeat. When I explained this on the podcast, I started with property taxes, because you can pay a second year’s bill early, and the same idea works with charitable gifts: lump two years into one. Whether it works for you depends on your other itemized deductions, so ask your tax preparer.

## Do you tithe before or after taxes?

I tell our clients to tithe on the gross, before taxes. The Bible speaks of the firstfruits and of a tenth of our increase, and firstfruits come first, before the bills and before the taxes. A few clarifications:

- **Retirees** tithe on their IRA withdrawals.
- **Business owners** tithe on their income, not their sales. Talk with us about what counts as income in your business.
- **A tax refund** is not tithed. It is your own money coming back, not new increase.

Whatever number you tithe on, report your income honestly. When I had work done on my home, some tradesmen offered to be paid in cash so they would not have to report it. I said no, because that is not right. Jesus was clear about paying what we owe. It is wise to use all the deductions the governing authorities allow, as long as we do it with integrity.

## Tithing from your IRA: the method most retirees miss

If you tithe to your church, give from your required distribution as your tithe. It makes so much sense, financially and tax-wise. A [qualified charitable distribution](https://christianfinancialadvisors.com/resources/articles/qualified-charitable-distribution/), or QCD, is a direct transfer from your IRA to a qualified charity, such as your church. The IRA custodian pays the church directly. If the money lands in your account first and then you write a check, it is not a QCD.

Here are the rules that matter most:

- You must be at least 70½ on the date of the transfer. A QCD counts toward your required distribution, but it is not tied to the age that distributions begin, which is 73 for people born from 1951 through 1959 and 75 for people born in 1960 or later.
- The 2026 limit is $111,000 per person, or $222,000 for a couple if each spouse has an eligible IRA. Anything over the limit is a taxable distribution.
- It has to come from an IRA. A 401(k), 403(b) or TSP is not eligible. If your money is still in one of those, a tax-free direct rollover to an IRA comes first.
- It cannot go to a donor-advised fund.
- You do not take a charitable deduction on top of the exclusion, and the benefit works whether or not you itemize.
- Your church needs to give you a written acknowledgment.

This fits retirees with a pension and Social Security who do not need their required distribution, and many of the retirees we serve have retired from the military. We send hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to churches and charities this way. Shawn Peters, my co-host, shows the arithmetic on our [non-cash giving episode](https://christianfinancialadvisors.com/podcast/10-non-cash-giving-ideas-to-lower-taxes/): a $5,000 withdrawal leaves $3,500 to $4,000 after tax, depending on your bracket, but a $5,000 QCD sends the full $5,000 to your church.

Your tax bracket
Withdraw $5,000, then give what is left
Send a $5,000 QCD

20%
$4,000 reaches the church
$5,000 reaches the church

30%
$3,500 reaches the church
$5,000 reaches the church

## Tithing with stock instead of cash

If you hold stock that has grown, giving the shares can be a better tithe than giving cash. When you give appreciated shares you have held more than a year, you generally deduct their market value and avoid capital gains tax on the gain. Long-term appreciated property is capped at 30% of your adjusted gross income in a year, and the excess carries forward five years. As with any non-cash gift, the deduction helps only if you itemize.

Many small churches have no brokerage account to receive shares. We approve requests case by case to open a brokerage account in your church’s name, so a member can give shares and we can sell them for the church. We do this as a ministry. We want to donate some of our time and resources to a good cause, and we also have to serve our paying clients, so please talk to us before you assume we can. We cover how a gift to your church is deducted, and [how gifts of other property work](https://christianfinancialadvisors.com/resources/articles/donation-of-property-to-charity/), in separate articles.

Here is my own routine. At year end I do what I call pre-giving. I give appreciated stock or an ETF to our [donor-advised fund](https://christianfinancialadvisors.com/resources/articles/donor-advised-fund/), the fund sells it with no tax on the sale, and I pay our church from the fund through the year. You take the deduction in the year you fund it and recommend grants later. The gift is irrevocable, which means the money cannot be withdrawn and has to go to charity.

## Tithing a windfall

A client sold his business for about $3.5 million and wanted to tithe on the sale, which came to $350,000. But he belonged to a small church, and he worried that handing it over all at once would change how the other members saw their own giving. They might decide the church no longer needed their tithes. So we opened a donor-advised fund for him, and he gives to his church from it over time. He kept the heart of the tithe and spared the church the shock. I tell this story on our episode about [tax-efficient tithing](https://christianfinancialadvisors.com/podcast/tax-efficient-tithing-strategies/).

## What the Bible says about tithes and taxes

**Is the tithe a kind of tax?** No. The tithe in the Old Testament was not an income tax. It supported the Levites, the work of the temple and the poor. We go deeper on the tithe in separate articles on the tithe and on tithing in the Bible, and in a recent look at [the biblical worldview of tithing and giving](https://christianfinancialadvisors.com/resources/articles/march-2026-the-biblical-worldview-of-tithing-and-giving/).

**Does paying taxes count as giving?** No. Jesus said, “Give, then, to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21, CSB). Paul wrote, “Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes” (Romans 13:7, CSB). Both are owed. The tithe is a separate act of worship: “Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in my house” (Malachi 3:10, CSB). It is to be given willingly, because “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7, CSB).

Here is how I read it. Taxes are part of God’s provision, and I try not to complain about them. We can always pay less in tax by giving more away. John Madison, a CPA and the founder of Dayspring Financial Ministry, told us that as stewards we have “an obligation to pay the least amount legally in taxes that we can,” so more is left for Kingdom work. Paying no more tax than the law requires leaves more to give.

## Year-end timing

For a deduction this year, the gift must be complete by December 31. A stock gift or a QCD has to be started by our cut-off, which this year is November 30, 2026. Your IRA custodian may set an earlier date of its own. Please don’t be calling us on December 30th. We go through the timing on our [year-end giving episode](https://christianfinancialadvisors.com/podcast/year-end-charitable-gifting-ideas/).

## Talk through your giving plan

Tithing is a matter of the heart first, and the tax code happens to reward the generous. If you would like to talk through your own giving plan, talk to Christian Financial Advisors® before year-end.

[Explore Planned Giving Options](https://christianfinancialadvisors.com/services/planned-giving-services/) [Talk to an Advisor](https://christianfinancialadvisors.com/meet/consult/)

## Frequently asked questions

### What did Jesus say about tithing?

Jesus did not set the tithe aside. In Matthew 23:23 he told the religious leaders to practice justice, mercy and faithfulness without neglecting the tithe. He also said to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. Tithing is about the heart first.

### Can I tithe from my 401(k)?

You cannot make a qualified charitable distribution from a 401(k), 403(b) or TSP. You can do a tax-free direct rollover to an IRA first, and then make a QCD from the IRA once you are at least 70½. If you take money out of the 401(k) and give it, the withdrawal is taxable income.

### Do I need a receipt for my tithe?

For any single gift of $250 or more, you need a written acknowledgment from your church. One annual summary can cover several gifts of $250 or more. Gifts under $250 are not added together, so a $25 weekly offering needs no acknowledgment, but every cash gift needs a bank record or a written note from the church.

### Is a tithe a tax deduction or a tax credit?

It is a deduction. A deduction lowers the income you are taxed on, while a credit would reduce your tax directly. For 2026, if you itemize, gifts above 0.5% of your adjusted gross income count. If you do not itemize, you can deduct up to $1,000 (single) or $2,000 (married filing jointly) in cash gifts to qualified public charities.

### Can I tithe to a ministry other than my church and still deduct it?

Yes, if the ministry is a qualified charity, the same rules apply. The deduction for people who do not itemize covers cash gifts to qualified public charities, but not gifts to donor-advised funds. Whether a gift to another ministry counts as your tithe is a matter to pray about and talk over with your pastor.

### Should I tithe on a tax refund?

I do not. A refund is your own money coming back to you, not new increase. I tithe on the gross income that produced it.

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