Updated July 28, 2026. Quick answer: The 60% ceiling applies only to cash gifts to public charities, under IRC §170(b)(1)(G)(i). Long-term capital gain property — appreciated stock — is capped at 30% of contribution base under §170(b)(1)(C)(i). These are routinely reported as one 60% limit, which will overstate what a large stock gift can deduct in the year you make it.
The ceilings, by what you give and to whom
| Gift | Recipient | Ceiling |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | Public charity | 60% of contribution base |
| Long-term appreciated property | Public charity | 30% |
| Long-term appreciated property | Non-operating private foundation | Lesser of 20% or the remainder after other gifts |
And the 60% cash bucket is reduced by your other giving. It is not a separate allowance sitting alongside the 30% bucket — the buckets interact, so a large stock gift eats into what cash you can deduct in the same year. Anyone modelling both in one year needs the interaction, not two independent percentages.
The election that trades rate for room
IRC §170(b)(1)(C)(iii) lets you elect to apply the §170(e)(1) basis reduction to all capital gain property given during the year. You give up the fair-market-value deduction and value everything at basis — and in exchange the higher AGI ceiling applies. It is occasionally the right trade for someone with low-basis stock and limited income, and it is a genuine election with consequences, not a default.
What runs off the end
Excess contributions carry forward five succeeding years under §170(d)(1), and each AGI bucket carries separately — cash excess carries in the cash bucket, appreciated property in its own. They do not pool.
No dollar figures appear here, and that is deliberate. The QCD annual cap is inflation-indexed and the figure printed in IRC §408(d)(8)(A) is the original un-indexed amount, which the statute will keep reciting forever. AGI ceilings are percentages, not amounts. Take current dollar limits from the IRS for the year in question, never from an article.
Sources
IRC §170(b)(1)(A), (b)(1)(C), (b)(1)(D), (b)(1)(G), (b)(1)(I) and (d)(1); §170(e)(1) and (e)(5); §170(f)(11) (appraisal); §68 as amended; §408(d)(8) (qualified charitable distributions); §4966(d)(2) (donor-advised funds); §664(d)(1) and (d)(2) (charitable remainder trusts). Amendments from P.L. 119-21. IRS Publication 505 (2026) for the 0.5% floor’s first application year. All read July 2026.
This states what the cited authority says. It is not tax advice, and retirement-plan design turns on facts about your business and your other entities that no page can see. Every dollar limit referenced here is indexed and changes annually.