A large coalition of nonprofit organizations is urging Congress to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by expanding the tax break for making charitable donations in the next relief package.
“Donations are especially needed today as nonprofits respond to the current health and economic crisis and will be critical in the future as nonprofits play an essential role in recovery efforts when the pandemic ends,” thousands of groups said in a July 13 letter sent to congressional leaders and every House and Senate office.
The nonprofits want lawmakers to expand a provision in the the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (P.L. 116-136) that temporarily allows non-itemizers to claim the deduction. They’re calling for enactment of provisions in the Universal Giving Pandemic Response Act (S. 4032/H.R. 7324) that would increase the amount of the universal or above-the-line deduction to one-third of the standard deduction and extend it through 2021.
S. 4032 was introduced by Senate Finance Committee member James Lankford, R-Okla., and H.R. 7324 was introduced by Reps. Mark Walker, R-N.C., and Chris Pappas, D-N.H. Walker has also introduced the Coronavirus Help and Response Initiative Through Year 2022 Act (H.R. 6490), which would establish a universal charitable deduction for non-itemizers.
The groups requested a second round of Paycheck Protection Program funding that could benefit all nonprofits and would allow organizations with 500 employees to be eligible for it. The employee retention tax credit created by the CARES Act should be expanded “to help nonprofits retain employees, scale service delivery, and create new jobs,” they said.