In a preemptive attempt to head off such behavior, Congress also increased the accuracy-related tax penalty from 20% to 50% on an underpayment of tax resulting when a non-itemizing taxpayer improperly claims the charitable contribution deduction. Apparently, Congress anticipates that non-itemizers will abuse this new deduction by taking the deduction without actually making a contribution. This distinction matters because many credits and other tax benefits are limited by the AGI amount. This is because on 2020 returns the cash contributions, up to $300, are deducted in computing adjusted gross income, while on 2021 returns, the deduction will be taken after the AGI is figured. Claiming the deduction as part of the standard deduction for 2021 may not be quite as beneficial tax-wise for some taxpayers as was the deduction for 2020. For 2021, the $300 or $600 amount is an add-on to a non-itemizer’s standard deduction. However, contributions by non-itemizers to new or existing donor-advised funds or private foundations don’t qualify for either year. This is an increase from 2020, when the contribution was limited to $300 regardless of filing status. Married couples filing jointly are allowed a deduction of up to $600 for the cash contributions they make during 2021. Charitable Contributions for Non-Itemizers – The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act allows those who don’t itemize their deductions a deduction of up to $300 for cash contributions made during 2021.Here is a rundown on these charitable contribution tax benefits for 2021: The recent COVID-related tax relief act, passed late in December, extends and enhances those liberalized charitable contribution deduction provisions. As a means to stimulate charitable contributions during the COVID crisis, Congress made two notable changes for 2020-one allowing taxpayers that don’t itemize their deductions an above-the-line deduction for cash contributions of up to $300 and another for those itemizing their deductions to increase the maximum deduction for cash contributions to 100% of their adjusted gross income (AGI).