Economic Analysis of the Charitable Contribution Deduction for Non-Itemizers

This report summarizes the provisions affecting charitable contribution deductions of individuals, and then analyzes the incentive such a deduction would create for increased charitable giving beginning with the original proposal for a relatively low cap and then considering other approaches including the current one. It does not attempt to estimate other types of societal impacts. The non-itemizer’s charitable deduction was the single most important tax provision in the original version of H.R. 7. In S. 1924, S. 476, and the current version of H.R. 7, the nonitemizer provision was temporary and had a higher cap (and a floor). The provision affecting rollovers from IRAs, which can also function as a deduction for nonitemizers, is also discussed briefly