Charitable Contributions in the United States

Introduction to Charitable Contributions

Charitable giving in the United States

Scope

Causes

Motivation

An extensive analysis of the subject by The Chronicle of Philanthropy (Chiu, L. and Perry, S., “Changes in Charitable Deduction May Have Mixed Impact on Giving,” The Chronicle of Philanthropy (October 6, 2011)) concluded that limitations on the value of the charitable deduction for wealthy Americans would have a mixed effect. A number of economists who have spoken on the subject expressed the view that the real difference would be seen “at the margins.” That is limitations on deductibility, or, indeed, outright loss of the charitable deduction, “would have little if any effect on core giving by wealthy Americans, who strongly support their churches, community foundations, etc. Such limitations would be expected to be felt when such individuals considered new charities or causes, outside of their usual charitable focus.

Charitable Contributions and Tax Law

There are more details about Charitable Contributions in the tax compilation of the legal Encyclopedia.

Resources

Further Reading

• Information about Charitable Contributions in the Gale Encyclopedia of American Law.