Menu
Tax Notes logo

Lawmaker Pushes Enhanced Charitable Deduction to Promote Giving

Posted on May 27, 2020

Congress should expand the charitable giving tax break to encourage donations during the coronavirus pandemic, a House member says.

Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., is seeking support for his bill to make the charitable contribution deduction available to more Americans during the economic downturn caused by the health crisis. The legislation “could act as a springboard to support our local, community programs, which provide critical aid to those who need it the most,” Walker wrote May 23 in the Greensboro-based News & Record.

The Coronavirus Help and Response Initiative Through Year 2022 (CHARITY 2022) Act (H.R. 6490), introduced April 8, would establish a universal charitable deduction for non-itemizers, effective through the end of fiscal 2022, that would amount to about $4,000 for individual filers and $8,000 for couples filing jointly.

“Charity begins at home, but the CHARITY 2022 Act has made its way to Congress, and I will work with all of my colleagues to promote and pass it,” said Walker, who has introduced similar measures before.

The CHARITY 2022 Act differs from the temporary universal charitable deduction enacted as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (P.L. 116-136), which is capped at $300. Charitable sector representatives say the $300 limit is insufficient to address the anticipated drop in charitable giving caused by the pandemic.

In a May 7 letter, 30 senators asked their chamber’s leadership to raise the $300 cap, and 144 House members requested an increase from their leadership in an April 29 letter. The Congressional Black Caucus has made a similar request.

The Alliance for Charitable Reform blasted the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (H.R. 6800), recently passed by House Democrats, for omitting an increase in the $300 limit.

“The [act] will not become law in its current form, but House Democrats made it clear expanding the charitable giving incentive is not on their $3 trillion priority list,” the alliance said in a May 22 blog post. “So now, we must turn to our champions in the Senate, who we hope will help advance an expanded deduction in future relief legislation to drive more donations to the nonprofits that need them most.”

Another bill, the Save Organizations that Serve America Act (H.R. 6408), drafted by Reps. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., and Brian K. Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., would establish a permanent universal charitable deduction.

Copy RID