A group of bipartisan lawmakers including Reps. Blake Moore (R-UT), Danny Davis (D-IL), Michele Steel (R-CA) and Chris Pappas (D-NH) recently introduced the Charitable Act (HR 3435) in the House. An identical version of the Senate bill (S 566), the bill would allow all taxpayers, including non-itemizers, to deduct up to one-third of the value of the standard deduction for charitable contributions, which comes to about $4,500 for individuals and about $9,000 for married joint filers.
Charitable giving by individuals has fallen for four consecutive years even as contributions from foundations and corporations has grown. When Congress created the temporary universal charitable deduction in 2021 and 2022, it generated $10.9 billion for charities, with 25% of that coming from Americans making less than $30,000 a year.
The charitable deduction encourages individuals to give away more money to charity than they otherwise would. Unfortunately, the current deduction is only available to those who itemize, roughly 12 percent of taxpayers. If enacted, the bill will incentivize giving by all Americans, regardless of income.
Goodwill Industries International is one of 175 members of the Charitable Giving Coalition which supports this legislation. Join us in our efforts and ask your lawmakers to cosponsor The Charitable Act today. Click here to access the GII Legislative Action Center.
