Just read a blurb that it will be harder to deduct charitable contributions going forward. For the last few years, they were deductible even if you did not itemize. Standard deduction went up quite a bit so fewer taxpayers could itemize. Now, those contributions will NOT be deductible unless you can itemize which will be harder to reach that thresh hold.

Will devout members care at all? Inflation still hitting families hard and costs are still high. What is the tipping point when buying groceries will outweigh adding to TSCC rainy day fund?

Which doesn't change your question...

Of course I want to believe that if the issue arises that TBMs have to pay taxes on money they gave to the church, they'd want some kind of recompense.

I bet the church allows them to pay all the tithing due, until they cap out, which may require tithing settlement for 2023 to be postponed until the tax deadline for 2023, in 2024.

Probably the church can scrape by til then.

But at least they can always count on me!!

I get to make charitable donations tax-free if I send them directly from my 401K. You have to be 70 and a half (a half? I don't know why either. Weird) to qualify for this perk, but I cleared that hurdle, so I do. No, I don't donate to LDS Inc.

For people suffering the ignominy of being too young, you have to itemize on Schedule A to deduct charitable contributions.

There was a separate non-itemized charitable deduction of up to $300 per filer ($600 if married filing jointly). It was line 12a of the 2021 from 1040.

Line 12a expired this year. You don't get that deduction for 2022 unless they change the law post toasty here. That is not expected.

People who have a mortgage and two incomes and pay tithing and have children would be itemizing anyway. If you are retired, no kids, the mortgage is paid or you are renting, no tithing deduction for you.

I don't see the loss of the $300 deduction will make much difference. If you make $50,000, and were paying $5,000 in tithing, having your taxes go up about $75 should not be a deal breaker

[Note: yes, the deduction is $300, but that lowers your taxable income. It does not lower your tax by $300. If you are in a 25% bracket, that $300 deduction would lower your taxes by $75, which is 25% of $300)

As a single person, no kids, I lost my ability to itemize with the change in the tax law. I used to itemize my mortgage interest and my excess school expenses (teachers get $250 without itemizing, but often spend more than that. A typical year for me when I was in the classroom was $800.)

Where I live, I can't see anyone tithing $5,000 on a $50K salary, or even close to that. All, or almost all of a $50K salary would be eaten up with basic living expenses.

BoJ if I get stuck on my taxes this year I am calling YOU!

LOL. I used to be a tax prep volunteer for AARP and have probably done 500 tax returns for people over the years, give or take, so I got pretty good at looking stuff up.

Like, you have a sibling living with you who is 30 years old, disabled, and you are their principal means of support. Do they qualify as a dependent? If yes, do they qualify to be counted in Earned Income Credit calculation on your federal return?

Ya gotta look that kind of stuff up unless you are LW and cursed with total recall. Even then you have to look it up the first time.

are state income taxes effected?

It would depend on your state. States often allow things that the federal government does not.

Most (all?) states with state income tax base it on your federal Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). The $300 charitable deduction, and the standard deduction or itemized deductions are all subtracted out after determining your AGI, so the AGI-based state income tax won't change.

The thing affecting 'tithe-thing' most is more mins waking up.

Years ago my Aunt had a house with a mortgage. When she could no longer work, she got a reverse mortgage loan and they paid her a monthly payment just to live there.

Does this new tax law change make it so that after paying tithing payments for a lifetime, I can get a reverse tithing loan and the mighty mormon church will send me monthly payments just to be alive?

That would be sweet!