Ask Your Members of Congress to Support the Charitable Act

Submitted by Jaime Sharp on October 2, 2023

United Philanthropy Forum and Grantmakers in the Arts encourage the philanthropic sector to support the Charitable Act, legislation that would implement a Universal Charitable Deduction (UCD).

On May 17th, Representatives Blake Moore (R-UT), Danny K. Davis (D-IL), Michelle Steel (R-CA), and Chris Pappas (D-NH) introduced the Charitable Act in the House of Representatives. H.R. 3435 is a companion bill to Senate Bill 566.

The Charitable Act would restore the non-itemizer charitable deduction and raise the caps from $300 for individuals/$600 for joint filers to one-third of the standard deduction. In 2023, this change would allow taxpayers who don’t itemize to claim a deduction for charitable giving up to approximately $4,600 for individuals/$9,200 for joint filers, in addition to claiming the standard deduction itself. The deduction in the bill would be in effect for taxable years 2023 and 2024 and indexed for inflation.

Charitable dollars are essential to maintaining a healthy civil society, vital to both nonprofit charities and local governments that depend on these resources to achieve their critical missions. The charitable deduction is good tax policy – a simple calculation shows that those in need receive at least $2.50 in benefit for every $1 of tax benefit. This is an impressive return on investment.

The Forum and GIA support the Charitable Act and look forward to working with you to urge Congress to enact this important legislation.