Advice on donation

Given your high income and large donation, you have a few strategic options to maximize the tax benefits:

  1. Timing and Tax Brackets: Since you're in a higher tax bracket, making a large donation in a year with substantial RSU income may allow you to offset more taxable income. Consider timing the donation to align with high-income years to maximize the deduction's impact.

  2. Bunching Donations: You might benefit from “bunching” multiple years' worth of donations into one year to exceed the standard deduction and itemize instead. If you're regularly giving $7-10k annually, consolidating several years' donations into one year with this $60k could boost your total deductions beyond the standard deduction.

  3. Donor-Advised Fund (DAF): If you're not certain about the exact timing, you could contribute the $60k to a DAF now. This would allow you to receive an immediate tax deduction while giving you flexibility on when to distribute the funds to your chosen charities over the coming years.

  4. Appreciated Stocks: If you have appreciated stocks or RSUs available to sell, consider donating them directly instead of cash. This avoids capital gains tax and provides a deduction for the full market value of the stock.

  5. Standard Deduction Consideration: Since you normally file jointly with a standard deduction, you’ll want to assess whether itemizing in the year of the large donation provides a greater tax benefit than the standard deduction.