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The Above-the-Line Charitable Deduction Returns in 2026: Who It Helps and Who It Doesn't
Starting in 2026, households that take the standard deduction can deduct up to $2,000 of cash giving — permanently. It's a small number that quietly changes the math on bunching, and it's worth more to some donors than to others. Here's who actually benefits.

J.T. Hardcastle
11 hours ago6 min read


QCDs in 2026: The Charitable Move the New AGI Floor Can't Touch
The new 0.5% floor and the 35% deduction cap both operate on itemized deductions. A qualified charitable distribution isn't one. Here's how a gift sent straight from an IRA sidesteps both rules, what the 2026 limits are, and the traps worth knowing before December.

J.T. Hardcastle
Aug 248 min read


The Corporate 1% Giving Floor: What Business Owners Should Know Before They Write the Check
Starting in 2026, a company only deducts what it gives above 1% of taxable income — and the part below that line is usually gone for good. Here's how the new corporate floor works, why steady givers lose the most, and what business owners can change before December.

J.T. Hardcastle
Aug 176 min read


The Sunset That Never Came: Rebuilding Your Estate Strategy for the $15M Era
For years, families rushed to beat an estate tax cliff set for 2026. Then the cliff vanished and a $15 million exemption became permanent. Here's how to rebuild a plan that was built for a deadline that never arrived — and why "no cliff" doesn't mean "no work."

J.T. Hardcastle
Aug 106 min read


The $15 Million Estate Exemption Is Now Permanent: What That Changes for Your Plan
For years, families were told to rush their gifting before the estate tax exemption got cut in half. Then the 2026 law made a $15 million exemption permanent instead. Here's what actually changes for your plan now that the deadline is gone — and why "no deadline" is not the same as "no decisions."

J.T. Hardcastle
Aug 36 min read


Bunching in the Floor Era: How Many Years of Giving Should You Stack at Once?
Bunching your charitable gifts into one big year is the standard fix for the new 0.5% floor. But two years, three, or five? Stack too little and you never clear the bar; stack too much and you run into the AGI ceiling. Here is how to size a bunch that actually fits your numbers.

J.T. Hardcastle
Jul 277 min read


The 35% Deduction Cap: Why Top-Bracket Givers Get Less Back on Every Dollar in 2026
Starting in 2026, a donor in the top bracket gets 35 cents back on a charitable dollar instead of 37. Here is how the new deduction cap works, who actually feels it, and the moves that make the same generosity go further.

J.T. Hardcastle
Jul 136 min read


Why the New Tax Law Made Donor Advised Funds More Valuable, Not Less
The 2026 tax rules trim the charitable deduction at both ends. Most donors assume that makes giving tools less useful. Here is why a donor advised fund actually gets more valuable under the new math, not less.

J.T. Hardcastle
Jul 66 min read


The 0.5% Floor: The Quiet 2026 Rule That Penalizes Donors Who Give a Little Every Year
A new 2026 rule erases the deduction on the first slice of what you give, and it lands hardest on people who give a steady amount every year. Here is how the 0.5% charitable floor works, who it penalizes, and a simple way to plan your giving so more of it actually counts.

J.T. Hardcastle
Jun 306 min read


When to Disinherit the IRS (Legally)
Every estate has three possible heirs: your family, the causes you love, and the IRS. You don't get to remove the IRS entirely — but with the right asset placement, you can legally cut it out of a large share. The trick is deciding which assets go to whom. Here's how to disinherit the taxman, on purpose and within the rules.

J.T. Hardcastle
Jun 294 min read


Selling a Real Estate Portfolio? Charitable Strategies That Outperform a 1031
The 1031 exchange is the reflex move for real estate sellers dodging capital gains — but it only defers the tax and chains you to buying more property forever. For the seller who actually wants out, income, and impact, charitable strategies can do what a 1031 can't. Here's the comparison most brokers won't run.

J.T. Hardcastle
Jun 295 min read


Generosity as a Spiritual Discipline, Not a Marketing Strategy
In a culture where giving often comes with naming rights, recognition walls, and a press release, it's easy to forget what generosity is actually for. Scripture treats it as a spiritual discipline — a practiced habit that quietly reshapes the giver. Here's the difference between generosity that forms you and generosity that just performs.

J.T. Hardcastle
Jun 295 min read


Charitable Remainder Trust vs Charitable Lead Trust: A Plain-English Comparison
They sound like cousins and they're really mirror images. A charitable remainder trust pays you first and leaves the rest to charity. A charitable lead trust pays charity first and leaves the rest to your heirs. Which one fits comes down to a single question — and here's how to answer it in plain English.

J.T. Hardcastle
Jun 294 min read


SECURE Act 2.0, Inherited IRAs, and the Charitable Workaround
The SECURE Act quietly killed the "stretch IRA" that once let heirs spread inherited retirement withdrawals across their lifetimes. Now most must empty the account within ten years — often a serious tax bomb. A charitable trust can defuse it, recreating a lifetime income stream for your heirs while still funding a gift. Here's the workaround.

J.T. Hardcastle
Jun 295 min read


Pre-Liquidity Charitable Planning: A Step-by-Step Playbook for Sellers
Selling a business is the biggest taxable event of most owners' lives — and the one with the most planning levers, nearly all of which disappear at closing. This is the step-by-step playbook for charitable planning before a sale: when to start, which vehicles to use, and the order that turns a tax hit into a legacy.

J.T. Hardcastle
Jun 294 min read


The Boomerang Estate Strategy: How to Give Big and Still Cover Your Kids
The fear that quietly stops big giving is simple: "If I give it away, my kids get less." The boomerang strategy answers it. You give a large gift to charity, capture the tax savings, and use them to fund life insurance that replaces the wealth for your heirs — tax-free. The gift boomerangs back to the family. Here's how.

J.T. Hardcastle
Jun 295 min read


Estate Tax Exemption Sunset 2026: What Changed and Why It Matters This Year
For years, advisors warned that the estate tax exemption would be cut roughly in half at the end of 2025. Families rushed to plan around the "sunset." Then it didn't happen. The 2026 law made a $15 million exemption permanent instead. Here's what actually changed, and why your estate plan still matters this year.

J.T. Hardcastle
Jun 294 min read


QSBS, DAFs, and the Stack Most CPAs Never Build
Qualified Small Business Stock can wipe out federal tax on millions of dollars of gain when a company sells. Pair it with gifts, trusts, and a donor advised fund, and you can multiply the exclusion and erase the tax on the leftover — a coordinated stack most CPAs never build. Here's how the pieces fit.

J.T. Hardcastle
Jun 295 min read


The DAF Mistake That Quietly Costs Donors Six Figures
It doesn't look like a mistake. The gift still goes through, the charity still says thank you, the deduction still shows up. But funding a donor advised fund with cash when you're sitting on appreciated stock can hand the IRS six figures you never had to pay. Here's the trap, why smart people fall into it, and the simple fix.

J.T. Hardcastle
Jun 295 min read


Biblical Leverage: A Framework for Wealth That Multiplies
In finance, leverage means using a tool to multiply force — turning a small input into a larger result. Scripture has its own version, and it's older and deeper: the call to take what you've been entrusted with and make it yield more good. Here's a framework for biblical leverage, and what it asks of anyone holding real wealth.

J.T. Hardcastle
Jun 295 min read
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