The CARES act added a deduction for charitable donations up to $300 ($600 for taxpayers who are married filing jointly) for taxpayers who take the standard deduction on their tax returns. Previously, only taxpayers who itemized their deductions were allowed to deduct charitable donations. Donations made on or before December 31, 2021 to charitable organizations who are recognized by the IRS as tax exempt, will be eligible for this deduction on the 2021 tax return.
You can check the Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS) tool For a list of qualifying US organizations. The only foreign charity allowed are gifts to Canadian, Israeli and Mexican organizations. Other foreign organizations do not qualify.
In general, one should keep a record of charitable contributions given. For donations under $250, a cancelled check or credit card statement is sufficient. For donations that exceed $250, one should obtain from the charity a written acknowledgement of the amount of the donation, the date it was received, and whether any goods or services were received in exchange for the donation.
Only monetary charitable donations qualify for the special tax deduction. Noncash charitable donations are only deductible as itemized deductions. And note that neither contributions to a donor-advised fund, or to a charitable remainder trust or to most private foundations are deductible under this special rule. In addition, cash donations carried over from prior years are not deductible under the special tax deduction.
