GiveCalc US: Calculate your charitable giving tax savings

This Giving Tuesday, we're launching GiveCalc as a standalone web application at givecalc.org. The free calculator computes how charitable donations affect your federal and state taxes, helping you understand the true cost of giving—to any charity, including PolicyEngine.

Since launching GiveCalc last year, we've rebuilt it from the ground up:

• New domain: Access GiveCalc directly at givecalc.org
• UK Gift Aid support: Calculate tax relief on charitable donations in the UK, including Scottish income tax rates
• React frontend: Faster, more responsive interface
• 2025 tax year support: Calculate impacts for 2024, 2025, or 2026, including HR1's charitable contribution changes and downstream state tax effects
• Expanded income types: Add self-employment, capital gains, dividends, and interest income
• Mobile-friendly design: Use GiveCalc on any device
• Validated accuracy: Tax calculations powered by our partnership with the National Bureau of Economic Research

GiveCalc uses PolicyEngine's microsimulation model to compute your taxes with and without donations. Enter your income, filing status, state, and deductions, and GiveCalc shows:

1. Net tax impact: How much your donation reduces your tax liability
2. Marginal giving discount: The tax savings per additional dollar donated
3. Target donation finder: The donation required to achieve a specific net income reduction

For example, a single California filer earning $200,000 with $20,000 in mortgage interest saves $5,857 in taxes on a $20,000 donation — a 33% marginal savings rate that makes their net cost $14,143.

GiveCalc screenshot showing tax savings calculation

PolicyEngine builds open-source infrastructure for evidence-based policy analysis. Everything we do is micro-founded: societal impacts are built up person by person, household by household—making policy personal.

Organizations citing PolicyEngine

PolicyEngine's calculator lets anyone see how taxes and benefits affect their specific situation—and how proposed reforms would change it.

PolicyEngine calculator showing Nebraska EITC analysis

When major legislation moves through Congress, we build custom tools to help the public understand impacts. Our OBBBA household calculator lets anyone see how reconciliation bill provisions affect their family.

OBBBA household-by-household calculator

Tools like MyFriendBen, Amplifi Benefit Navigator, Starlight, and Mirza use PolicyEngine's API to screen families for 40+ federal and state programs they may qualify for. MyFriendBen alone has identified over $800 million in unclaimed benefits for Colorado residents; Amplifi has helped 17,000 California households access $185 million in benefits. Collectively, these tools have identified over $1 billion in unclaimed benefits.

Benefit screening tools powered by PolicyEngine

Donations to PolicyEngine are tax-deductible in the US and support:

• More programs: Expanding benefit coverage so screening tools can help more families
• Better data: Improving accuracy for poverty and distributional analysis
• Open infrastructure: Sustaining free access for researchers, governments, and the public

See how we spend donations on Open Collective.

Donate to PolicyEngine and use GiveCalc to calculate your tax savings.

Visit givecalc.org to calculate how your charitable giving affects your taxes. The source code is open source, and we welcome contributions and feedback.