'AT&T employees can benefit from working with tax and legal professionals to revisit their 2025–2026 charitable giving timelines, as aligning these decisions with your broader financial picture can help you stay organized and make informed choices.' – Brent Wolf, a representative of The Retirement Group, a division of Wealth Enhancement.
Healthcare Provider Update: Healthcare Provider for AT&T: AT&T collaborates with multiple healthcare providers to ensure its employees receive quality health coverage. One primary partner is UnitedHealthcare, which offers health plans tailored for AT&T employees. Potential Healthcare Cost Increases in 2026: As the landscape of healthcare evolves, AT&T employees may face significant challenges with rising healthcare costs in 2026. Experts anticipate a steep surge in premiums for Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace plans, with some states projecting increases exceeding 60%. This rise is largely attributed to the potential expiration of enhanced federal premium subsidies and soaring medical expenses. Without action from Congress to extend these subsidies, over 22 million enrollees may see their out-of-pocket costs increase by more than 75%, making it imperative for workers to prepare financially for the coming changes. Click here to learn more
'For AT&T employees, thoughtful timing of 2025–2026 charitable gifts can influence your long-term retirement strategy, making it important to consider your broader financial plan when making these choices.' – Michael Corgiat, a representative of The Retirement Group, a division of Wealth Enhancement.
In this article, we will discuss:
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How the 2025–2026 rule changes may affect the tax benefits of your charitable gifts.
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The different charitable deduction rules for standard deduction filers versus itemizers.
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Strategies for timing your giving as a long-time AT&T employee or retiree.
2025–2026 Charitable Giving: How New Regulations May Affect Your Tax Plan
By Wealth Enhancement's Kevin Land, CFP® and Wesley Boudreaux
Giving to charities at the end of the year has long been a December custom for many households, including long-time employees and retirees from AT&T. However, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act has changed how charitable deductions work, with substantial updates taking effect in 2025 and 2026. As a result, the familiar “give by December 31” rule may not be the most tax-efficient approach anymore.
The law essentially establishes two different profiles of charitable donors starting in 2026:
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1. Filers who take the standard deduction.
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2. Filers who itemize deductions.
Depending on which group you belong to, the timing of your charitable contributions can lead to very different tax outcomes, which is especially important if most of your income and benefits come from years of work with AT&T.
Below, we describe:
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1. Who stands to gain from postponing some gifts until 2026.
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2. Who stands to gain from increasing donations before or during 2025.
Group 1: Standard Deduction Filers
Why some people might prefer to wait and donate in 2026
Instead of itemizing, around 90% of Americans take the standard deduction, 1 and many AT&T employees and retirees may fall into this category. Under the current 2025 rules, standard deduction filers generally do not receive any direct tax benefit from charitable gifts unless they itemize.
In 2026, that will change. Specifically, a new above-the-line charitable deduction will be available to standard deduction filers beginning in the 2026 tax year: 2
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- Up to $1,000 for single filers
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- Up to $2,000 for married couples filing jointly
Key characteristics—written into the law:
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- You do not need to itemize to claim this deduction.
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- Only monetary donations given to approved public charities are covered.
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- This deduction does not apply to supporting organizations or donor-advised funds.
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- Non-cash gifts such as household goods, appreciated stock, and cryptocurrency are not eligible.
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- The dollar limits are not indexed for inflation.
Real-world impact
In 2025, a cash donation made by a standard deduction filer is unlikely to produce any tax benefit unless that filer itemizes. If the same donor waits and gives in 2026, they may be able to deduct up to $1,000 or $2,000, depending on filing status.
For instance:
Let’s say you:
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- Are married and filing jointly
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- Typically donate $2,000 per year
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- Expect to take the standard deduction in both 2025 and 2026
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- Are in the 22% federal tax bracket
If you donate $2,000 in December 2025, you still take the standard deduction and do not gain any additional federal income tax savings from that gift.
If you instead donate $2,000 in January 2026, you can use the new $2,000 above-the-line deduction, which reduces your federal income tax by:
$2,000 × 22% = $440
Rules for documentation
Donors who give $250 or more in a single donation must obtain written confirmation stating that no goods or services were received in return for the contribution.
Who might use the standard deduction
While the standard deduction is available to all taxpayers, it may be used more often by:
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- Retirees with relatively limited deductible expenses
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- Younger individuals without many itemizable costs
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- Higher earners who have few deductions left to itemize (for example, capped SALT deductions)
For these donors, including many who spent their careers at AT&T, delaying certain cash gifts until early 2026 may turn previously non-deductible contributions into tax-efficient charitable giving.
Group 2: Itemizers
Reasons for wanting to accelerate gifts into 2025
For those who currently itemize, 2025 may be the final year before new deduction restrictions apply, so timing could matter for long-time professionals whose pay and benefits have grown over many years at AT&T.
What changes in 2026?
New charitable “floor” of 0.5% of AGI
Starting in 2026, charitable contributions are only deductible to the extent they exceed 0.5% of adjusted gross income (AGI). 3
For example:
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AGI: $300,000
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0.5% floor: $1,500
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Only the portion of your charitable contributions above $1,500 is deductible.
The 60% AGI cap on cash contributions remains
Itemizers can generally deduct up to 60% of AGI in cash contributions to qualifying public charities. 3 Any contributions above this limit may be carried forward for up to five years. This cap applies in addition to the new 0.5% floor starting in 2026.
Example for a higher-income itemizer:
Let’s say you:
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- Have AGI of $500,000
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- Are in the 35% federal tax bracket
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- Typically donate $25,000 per year
In 2025, before the new floor applies:
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- Subject to the usual AGI limits, you may be able to deduct nearly the full $25,000.
In 2026:
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- 0.5% of AGI = $2,500
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- Only contributions above $2,500 are deductible
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- Of your $25,000 in gifts, only $22,500 may be deductible
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- Losing a $2,500 deduction at a 35% tax rate may increase your federal income tax by $875
This difference can be especially important for donor-advised fund strategies or large gifts that AT&T professionals may plan as part of a broader legacy or estate plan.
Who might itemize
Usually, itemizers have:
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- AGI above the national average
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- High state and local taxes
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- Deductible expenses such as meaningful mortgage interest
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- Long-term charitable goals and multi-year giving plans
For these individuals, accelerating larger gifts in 2025 may result in a more favorable deduction position than waiting until 2026.
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Which Group Do You Belong To?
Delaying charitable giving until 2026 might be worth considering if:
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- You typically use the standard deduction
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- You give $1,000 to $2,000 or more to charities each year
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- You do not expect to itemize in 2025
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- You could shift a cash gift from December 2025 to January 2026 and potentially use the new above-the-line deduction
Giving before year-end 2025 might be more appealing if:
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- You will itemize in 2025, or already know you will have substantial itemized deductions
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- You intend to make sizable, flexible charitable gifts (for example, to a major institution or to a donor-advised fund)
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- The new 0.5% AGI floor in 2026 would reduce the amount you can deduct
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- Frontloading your giving in 2025 allows you to keep more of your charitable deduction under the current rules
How We Help Clients Make These Decisions
At Wealth Enhancement, when we review charitable planning for employees and retirees from large companies such as AT&T, we consider:
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- Income tax planning under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
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- Health care and long-term care needs
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- Multigenerational strategies and estate planning
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- Business, stock option, or liquidity events that influence annual income
We help families:
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- Evaluate the likelihood that they will itemize in both 2025 and 2026
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- Set charitable giving goals over a three- to ten-year period
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- Compare donating in 2025 versus shifting gifts into 2026
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- Coordinate planning with estate planning attorneys and certified public accountants
How The Retirement Group Can Help AT&T Employees
The Retirement Group can walk through the numbers with you and design a charitable giving approach that fits within your broader retirement strategy if you are unsure whether your 2025–2026 charitable plan should involve delaying or accelerating gifts as a current or former employee of AT&T.
Call (800) 900-5867 to discuss how your charitable plans fit alongside your pension, 401(k), and other retirement benefits.
Next Steps
Before you write your next year-end charitable check:
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- Confirm whether you expect to itemize or take the standard deduction.
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- Review how the upcoming 2026 rules may affect your deductions.
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- Consider whether shifting gifts into 2025 or 2026 could improve your overall tax outcome.
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Reach out to Wesley Boudreaux or Kevin Landis, CFP®, at Wealth Enhancement, and consider coordinating with The Retirement Group to determine which path best aligns with your goals as a long-term employee or retiree from AT&T.
Sources:
1. Forbes Advisor. ' Standard Deductions For 2024-2025 Tax Returns And Extra Benefits For People 65+ ,' by Taylor Tepper. Oct. 8, 2025.
2. “One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB): Impact on Charitable Giving.”
Fidelity Charitable
, 2025,
https://www.fidelitycharitable.org/articles/obbb-tax-reform.html
.
3. “Navigating Charitable Giving in the Wake of New Tax Reform.”
National Philanthropic Trust
, 30 July 2025,
https://www.nptrust.org/philanthropic-resources/philanthropist/navigating-charitable-giving-in-the-wake-of-new-tax-reform/
.
Other Resources:
1. “New Limitations on Charitable Deductions Take Effect in 2026.”
Greenberg Traurig
, 28 Oct. 2025,
https://www.gtlaw.com/en/insights/2025/10/new-limitations-on-charitable-deductions-take-effect-in-2026
2. “The OBBBA Clock Is Ticking: Why 2025 Might be the Year to Act for Maximum Charitable Deductions.”
Vanilla
, 28 Oct. 2025,
https://www.justvanilla.com/blog/obbba-year-end-charitable-planning-2026
.
3. “Charitable Organizations: Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements.”
IRS
, 30 Sept. 2025,
https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/charitable-organizations-substantiation-and-disclosure-requirements
.
With the current political climate we are in it is important to keep up with current news and remain knowledgeable about your benefits.
AT&T offers a defined benefit pension plan with a cash balance component. The cash balance plan grows with annual interest credits and employer contributions. Employees can choose between a lump-sum payment or monthly annuities upon retirement.
Layoffs and Restructuring: AT&T is expanding its $8 billion cost-reduction program, which includes significant layoffs. The company has reduced its workforce by more than 115,000 employees over the past five years, with further cuts expected in 2024 (Sources: TechBlog, WRAL TechWire). Operational Strategy: The restructuring efforts are part of AT&T's broader strategy to improve efficiency and adapt to a maturing market. This includes collaborations with firms like Blackrock to create open-access networks, which could provide new growth opportunities (Source: TechBlog). Financial Performance: Despite these challenges, AT&T reported strong financial results in 2023, driven by growth in 5G and fiber services. Revenues from mobility and consumer wireline segments saw significant increases, reflecting the company's strategic focus on high-growth areas (Source: AT&T).
AT&T offers RSUs that vest over several years, giving employees a stake in the company's equity. They also grant stock options, allowing employees to purchase shares at a set price.
AT&T has consistently updated its healthcare benefits to address the dynamic healthcare landscape and ensure comprehensive coverage for its employees. In recent years, AT&T has focused on enhancing its wellness programs, introducing initiatives like virtual healthcare services and telemedicine, which have become increasingly important during and after the pandemic. These services provide employees with convenient access to healthcare, reducing the need for in-person visits and supporting overall health management. Additionally, AT&T has increased its focus on mental health resources, offering counseling services and stress management programs, reflecting the company's commitment to holistic employee wellness. For 2024, AT&T has made adjustments to its healthcare plans to better align with the rising costs of medical services and prescription drugs. The company has introduced higher contribution limits for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and has implemented more robust wellness incentives to encourage proactive health management among employees. These changes are essential in the current economic and political environment, where healthcare affordability and accessibility remain critical issues. By continuously evolving its healthcare benefits, AT&T aims to support its employees' health and financial well-being, ensuring they have the resources needed to navigate the complex healthcare landscape.
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