In short
- Maaser is a tenth of income set aside for tzedakah. Chomesh, a fifth, is the higher standard some families keep.
- Whether you count from gross or net pay, and which expenses come off first, are questions with more than one accepted view. Ask your rav once, write down the answer, and apply it the same way every month.
- A separate account and a running ledger make it automatic. From 2026, US tax rules for charitable gifts changed, and some of your maaser may be deductible even if you don't itemize.
Maaser works best as a line in the budget, decided once, rather than a feeling you revisit every payday. This guide covers the arithmetic, the questions you will need to settle with your rav, a simple system for tracking it, and the US tax rules that apply to the part of your giving that goes to registered charities.
We are not poskim. Where halacha is involved, this guide describes the questions and the common approaches so you know what to ask. It does not give rulings.
The basic figures
Maaser means a tenth. Most families who keep it set aside 10% of their income for tzedakah. Chomesh, a fifth or 20%, is a higher level that some people take on. Many people stipulate when they begin that they keep maaser bli neder, without a vow, so a hard year does not turn into a broken commitment. How to phrase that, and whether it applies to you, is a question for your rav.
| Monthly income | Maaser (10%) | Chomesh (20%) | Maaser for the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| $3,000 | $300 | $600 | $3,600 |
| $5,000 | $500 | $1,000 | $6,000 |
| $7,500 | $750 | $1,500 | $9,000 |
| $10,000 | $1,000 | $2,000 | $12,000 |
Gross or net: the question to settle first
The biggest swing in the number is what you count as income. There are several approaches in the poskim and in practice:
- Gross income. Maaser on pay before taxes and deductions.
- After taxes. Maaser on what is left once income and payroll taxes are taken out, on the view that money withheld for tax never really reached you.
- After certain expenses. Some allow costs that exist only because of the job, such as commuting or childcare that lets both parents work, to come off first. Business owners generally count profit, not revenue.
Here is what the difference looks like on one paycheck. Say your salary is $6,000 a month gross and $4,600 reaches your account after taxes, health insurance and a 401(k) contribution.
| Counting from | Base | Maaser a month | A year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,000 | $600 | $7,200 |
| Take-home pay | $4,600 | $460 | $5,520 |
That is $1,680 a year apart, on one salary. Neither line is a recommendation. Ask your rav which applies to you, including how to treat pre-tax retirement savings and health insurance, which sit between the two. Then use the same rule every month so the ledger stays honest.
Maaser calculatorEnter your income your way, gross or net, and see what you owe, what you've given and what's left.Which money counts
Salary is the easy case. The harder ones come up every year, so it helps to have your rav's answers written down before they arrive:
- Gifts. Cash wedding and bar mitzvah gifts, Chanukah gelt from grandparents, money from parents for a specific purpose such as rent or furniture.
- Kollel and support. A kollel stipend, and regular support from parents or in-laws during the kollel years.
- Tax refunds. Depends partly on whether you count from gross or net: if you already gave maaser on gross pay, the refund may already be covered.
- Investments. Whether gains count as they grow or only when you sell, and how to treat dividends and interest.
- Credit card rewards and cash back. Many treat cash back differently from points used directly.
- Government benefits. Payments made for a specific need, such as food assistance.
Our Maaser calculator lets you mark each income source as included or not, so whatever your rav tells you can be built in once.
Where maaser can go
Giving to poor people is the core of maaser. Beyond that, poskim differ on which mitzvah-related costs maaser may cover. Common questions include:
- Yeshiva and seminary tuition, and whether the answer changes by age, by a son or daughter, or after high school.
- Shul membership, building campaigns, and seats for the Yamim Noraim.
- Supporting a married child in kollel.
- Buying seforim, especially ones others will also learn from.
- Raffle tickets for a tzedakah, and what happens if you win.
The general principle most people learn is that maaser may not pay for something you are already obligated to buy yourself. How that applies to tuition in particular is detailed and family-specific. Ask your rav rather than relying on a chart.
A system that runs itself
The families who keep maaser without stress tend to do three things.
1. Separate it when the money arrives
Open a second checking or savings account and name it "Maaser". Set an automatic transfer for the day after payday. If take-home is $4,600 and your rav says gross, transfer $600. Money that has already left your spending account is much easier to give.
2. Keep a ledger with four columns
Date, income, maaser owed, maaser given. The running difference tells you where you stand. Many people stipulate in advance that giving more than they owe in one month can count toward later months; ask whether that works for you.
| Month | Income | Owed (10%) | Given | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | $6,000 | $600 | $450 | $150 still to give |
| February | $6,000 | $600 | $900 | $150 ahead |
| March (with $2,000 bonus) | $8,000 | $800 | $500 | $150 still to give |
3. Keep the receipts
Ask every organization for a receipt. You need them for the tax rules below, and they make the year-end tally a ten-minute job.
Maaser and US taxes from 2026
Gifts to registered US charities can reduce your federal income tax. Gifts to individuals, however worthy, are not deductible. The rules changed for 2026:
- If you take the standard deduction, you can now deduct cash gifts to qualified charities of up to $1,000, or $2,000 for a married couple filing jointly. Gifts to donor-advised funds do not count for this.
- If you itemize, only the part of your charitable giving above 0.5% of your adjusted gross income is deductible. On an AGI of $150,000, the first $750 of gifts gives no deduction.
- For any single gift of $250 or more, you need a written acknowledgment from the charity to claim it.
The 2026 standard deduction is $16,100 for a single filer and $32,200 for a married couple filing jointly, so many young families do not itemize. The new deduction for non-itemizers is worth knowing about. You can check whether an organization is registered with the IRS's Tax Exempt Organization Search. For your own situation, ask a tax professional.
When money is tight
Kollel years, a new baby, a job loss: there are seasons when 10% feels impossible. People in this position should speak to their rav, who may consider your debts and basic expenses. Many people keep the ledger going anyway, recording what they would owe, so that the decision about catching up later is made with real numbers.
If your budget doesn't balance even before maaser, our budgeting guide walks through building one around frum costs.
Your first week
- Ask your rav three questions: gross or net, which income sources count, and whether you should make a bli neder stipulation.
- Open a separate account and set the transfer for the day after payday.
- Start the four-column ledger, or enter your figures in the Maaser calculator.
- Ask for receipts from now on and keep them in one folder.
Sources
- IRS Topic 506, Charitable contributions: the 2026 deduction for non-itemizers ($1,000 single, $2,000 joint).
- IRS Publication 505: from 2026, charitable gifts are deductible only above 0.5% of AGI for itemizers.
- IRS, Charitable contributions: written acknowledgments: required for any single gift of $250 or more.
- IRS, Tax inflation adjustments for 2026: standard deduction $16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly.
- IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search.
Figures checked November 2026. The tables are worked examples, not recommendations. This guide is general education, not tax or halachic advice: ask a qualified tax professional about your return, and your rav about maaser.