Liz Weston: Make the most of new rules for charitable giving

By LIZ WESTON of NerdWallet

The vast majority of Americans no longer get tax breaks for charitable contributions, but that’s no reason to stop giving. In fact, you might use this as an opportunity to expand your ideas of what constitutes charitable giving. To make your contributions count while optimizing your tax benefit, consider ways to adjust your approach. Look into donor-advised funds, stock donations and qualified charitable distributions from your individual retirement account, or IRA. If you skip a charitable donation in lieu of a gift to an individual, make sure you know the gift exemption limits.