Charitable Commodity Gifts in 2026
Why the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Makes This Strategy Even Better
If you donate grain, corn, soybeans, or other commodities to your church or food bank each year, pay close attention to what just changed. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) didn’t touch the rules for charitable commodity gifts, but it changed the rules for cash charitable donations in ways that make giving grain instead of cash significantly more valuable starting in 2026. Here’s what you need to know — and why a conversation with your tax advisor before your next bushels leave the farm is worth having now.
Why Donating Grain Works Differently Than Writing a Check
When you sell grain and write a check to your church, you pay federal income tax, self-employment tax, and state income tax on the sale first. The donation might yield a deduction if you itemize, but most farm families take the standard deduction, so the cash gift produces little or no tax benefit.
When you donate grain directly to a charity before it’s sold, that income simply never exists. You never report the sale. The income is excluded entirely so there’s no income tax, no self-employment tax, no state tax. The charity gets the same gift either way, but your tax bill is dramatically lower. What changed in 2026 is that the new tax law made the cash-donation alternative worse which makes the grain strategy more valuable than ever.
What the New Law Did to Cash Donations
OBBBA made several changes to how cash charitable deductions work, and none are good news for farm families who give the traditional way.
