To leave money to a charity in your will, you add a bequest clause that names the organization by its full legal name and states exactly what it receives: a set dollar amount, a specific asset, a percentage of your estate, or whatever remains after other gifts are paid. The federal tax code rewards this planning. Charitable bequests are fully deductible from your taxable estate with no cap on the amount, which can reduce or eliminate estate taxes for your heirs.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 2055 – Transfers for Public, Charitable, and Religious Uses The mechanics are straightforward. Small drafting mistakes are what cause the trouble.
Pick the Form the Gift Will Take
You have four ways to structure a charitable bequest, and the choice depends on whether you want a fixed gift or one that adjusts with your estate’s final value.
- A specific bequest gives the charity a fixed dollar amount or a particular asset. “I give $25,000 to Charity XYZ,” or “I give my 100 shares of Company ABC to Charity XYZ.” The charity knows exactly what it will receive, and the gift doesn’t move if your estate grows or shrinks.2Legal Information Institute. Specific Bequest
- A percentage bequest gives the charity a set share of your total estate. “I give 10% of my estate to Charity XYZ.” If your estate doubles between now and your death, the charity’s share doubles too.
- A residuary bequest sends all or part of what remains after debts, expenses, and other named gifts have been paid. It works well when you want to take care of named individuals first and send the rest to a cause you support.3Legal Information Institute. Residuary Bequest
- A contingent bequest only takes effect if a stated condition occurs, usually as a backup: “If my nephew does not survive me, I give my entire estate to Charity XYZ.” If the condition never triggers, the charity receives nothing.4Legal Information Institute. Contingent Will
Percentage and residuary bequests tend to cause fewer problems in administration because they adjust naturally. A specific bequest of $50,000 written twenty years ago can end up representing a much larger share of your estate than you intended if your assets have declined, and your executor has no room to adjust it.
Name the Charity So the Gift Cannot Be Misdirected
The single biggest drafting mistake in charitable bequests is getting the organization’s name wrong. Many charities operate under a name that differs from their legal name, and dozens of organizations may share nearly identical names. Your will should include the charity’s full legal name, its main address, and its Employer Identification Number. Together, those three details leave no ambiguity about which organization you meant.5Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Numbers for Tax-Exempt Organizations
The legal name and EIN usually appear on the charity’s website, annual report, or donation receipts. As a cross-check, the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool lets you confirm the legal name, the EIN, and that the organization qualifies to receive tax-deductible contributions.6Internal Revenue Service. Tax Exempt Organization Search That last piece matters for the estate tax deduction discussed further down.
Decide Whether the Gift Is Restricted
An unrestricted gift lets the charity spend the money wherever the need is greatest. The language is simple: state that the gift is for the organization’s “general purposes.” That gives the charity maximum flexibility and is the easiest option to draft.
A restricted gift directs the charity to use your money for a specific purpose, such as a scholarship fund or a named program. The wording has to be precise: “I give $50,000 to [Charity’s Full Legal Name] to be used exclusively for its youth literacy program.” Talk to the charity before your will is finalized, because programs get renamed, merged, or discontinued. If the restriction cannot be honored decades later, a court may need to step in and redirect the funds, which adds cost and delay to your estate.
A middle path is fallback language. Direct the gift to a specific program, then add that if the program no longer exists, the charity may use the funds for its closest equivalent purpose. That gives your executor and the charity a way forward without going to court.
Non-Cash Gifts Bring Extra Rules
You are not limited to cash. Real estate, stocks, artwork, and other property can all pass to a charity through your will, but non-cash gifts carry complications that cash gifts avoid.
When your estate claims a charitable deduction for donated property worth more than $5,000, the IRS generally requires a qualified appraisal. The appraiser must be independent and meet IRS qualification standards, and the appraisal has to be completed within set timeframes. Property valued above $500 requires your executor to file IRS Form 8283 with the estate tax return. For artwork appraised at $20,000 or more, a complete signed appraisal must accompany the return.
Real estate carrying a mortgage creates a particular problem. The charity inherits the debt along with the property, and many charities lack the resources or the willingness to take on mortgage obligations. If you plan to leave real property, pay down or clear any liens before your death, or confirm with the charity that it will accept encumbered property. Otherwise the gift may be declined and the property falls back into your general estate.
Publicly traded stock is generally the easiest non-cash asset to give because it has a clear market value and the charity can sell it quickly. For hard-to-value assets like closely held business interests or collectibles, involve both your attorney and the charity well in advance.
The Estate Tax Deduction
Charitable bequests reduce your taxable estate dollar-for-dollar with no upper limit. Your estate can deduct the full value of every qualifying charitable gift from the gross estate when calculating federal estate tax.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 2055 – Transfers for Public, Charitable, and Religious Uses Unlike the income tax charitable deduction, which is capped as a percentage of income, the estate tax version has no cap.
For 2026, the federal estate tax exemption is $15,000,000 per person.7Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Procedure 2025-32 Estates valued below that threshold owe no federal estate tax whether or not they include charitable gifts. Estates above the line face a top rate of 40% on the excess, and a large charitable bequest can eliminate or sharply reduce that bill. Some states impose their own estate or inheritance taxes at much lower thresholds, so the charitable deduction can matter even for estates well below the federal exemption.
To claim the deduction, your executor reports charitable bequests on Schedule O of IRS Form 706, the federal estate tax return.8Internal Revenue Service. About Form 706, United States Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Return The deduction covers gifts to qualifying recipients, including charities organized for religious, educational, scientific, or literary purposes, along with government entities and certain veterans’ organizations.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 2055 – Transfers for Public, Charitable, and Religious Uses
Adding a Bequest to a Will You Already Have
You do not need to rewrite an entire will to add a charitable gift. A codicil is a short legal supplement that modifies your existing will without replacing it. You can use one to add a new beneficiary, change a dollar amount, or remove a gift you no longer want to make.
A codicil has to meet the same formalities as the original will. You sign it in front of at least two witnesses, and depending on your state, a notary may also be required. You must be at least 18 and of sound mind when you sign. The codicil should reference the date of the original will and clearly describe the change.
Codicils work for one or two changes. If the revisions are extensive, drafting a new will is cleaner. Stacking multiple codicils increases the risk of contradictions and makes probate harder for your executor. Past a second or third codicil, start fresh.
If the Charity No Longer Exists
Charities merge, rebrand, and dissolve. If the organization you named in your will is gone when you die, the bequest does not automatically fail. Courts apply a doctrine called cy pres, meaning “as close as possible,” to redirect the gift to a similar organization that fits your original charitable intent.9Legal Information Institute. Cy Pres Doctrine
If you left money to a local animal shelter that later merged with a regional humane society, a court would most likely send the funds to the successor. If the shelter closed with no successor, the court would look for a similar animal welfare charity in the area. The process works, but it adds time and expense. You can avoid it by reviewing your will every few years to confirm the charity is still active, or by naming a backup charity in the original document.
When Something Other Than a Will Bequest Fits Better
A will is one route into charitable giving, not the only one. Two alternatives are worth knowing about because they sometimes deliver the same outcome more efficiently.
Beneficiary designations on financial accounts pass assets directly to a named recipient, bypassing probate. This works with life insurance, IRAs, 401(k)s, brokerage accounts, and bank accounts with payable-on-death registrations. Assets transferred this way reach the charity faster and without court involvement. One catch: a beneficiary designation overrides your will. If your will says your IRA goes to your nephew but the account’s beneficiary form names a charity, the charity receives the IRA. Keep the two documents in sync.
Retirement accounts are especially efficient to leave to a charity. When an individual heir inherits a traditional IRA, the distributions are taxable income to them. When a charity inherits the same account, it pays no income tax because of its tax-exempt status, and the full account value goes to the charitable mission instead of being reduced by taxes.
For larger estates, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, and donor-advised funds each offer ways to combine charitable giving with provisions for family. A charitable remainder trust pays income to your beneficiaries first and sends what remains to the charity.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 US Code 664 – Charitable Remainder Trusts A charitable lead trust reverses the order, paying the charity first and passing the remainder to heirs. A donor-advised fund, which you can name as a beneficiary in your will, holds the gift while your named successors recommend grants to other charities over time, and the bequest qualifies for the same estate tax deduction as a direct gift.11Fidelity Charitable. Charitable Solutions – Naming Fidelity Charitable in an Estate Plan Each of these tools warrants a conversation with an estate planning attorney before you commit to it.