BASIC FACTS ON CHARITABLE GIVING 

by 

David Joulfaian 

US Department of the Treasury 

OTA Paper 95 June 2005

OTA Papers is an occasional series of reports on the research, models, and data sets 

developed to inform and improve Treasury’s tax policy analysis. The papers are works in 

progress and subject to revision. Views and opinions expressed are those of the authors 

and do not necessarily represent official Treasury positions or policy. OTA Papers are 

distributed in order to document OTA analytic methods and data and invite discussion 

and suggestions for revision and improvement. Comments are welcome and should be 

directed to the authors. 

Office of Tax Analysis 

Department of the Treasury 

Washington, DC 20220 

The paper benefited from comments by Deena Ackerman, Gerald Auten, Melissa Brown, 

Susan Brown, Robert Carroll, Donald Kiefer, Catherine Hughes, Margaret Rolley, and 

Gene Steuerle. Comments are welcome to david.joulfaian@do.treas.gov. 
BASIC FACTS ON CHARITABLE GIVING 

by 

David Joulfaian 

US Department of the Treasury 

OTA Paper 95 June 2005

OTA Papers is an occasional series of reports on the research, models, and data sets 

developed to inform and improve Treasury’s tax policy analysis. The papers are works in 

progress and subject to revision. Views and opinions expressed are those of the authors 

and do not necessarily represent official Treasury positions or policy. OTA Papers are 

distributed in order to document OTA analytic methods and data and invite discussion 

and suggestions for revision and improvement. Comments are welcome and should be 

directed to the authors. 

Office of Tax Analysis 

Department of the Treasury 

Washington, DC 20220 

The paper benefited from comments by Deena Ackerman, Gerald Auten, Melissa Brown, 

Susan Brown, Robert Carroll, Donald Kiefer, Catherine Hughes, Margaret Rolley, and 

Gene Steuerle. Comments are welcome to david.joulfaian@do.treas.gov. 
BASIC FACTS ON CHARITABLE GIVING 

Abstract 

This paper provides a brief summary of the rules that govern the tax treatment of 

charitable gifts, and presents a statistical overview of recent trends in charitable giving. 

For each of individuals, corporations, estates, and fiduciaries, tax return data is employed 

to describe the profile of donors and report the amount of transfers to charitable 

organizations. 
I. Introduction 

The tax code provides for preferential tax treatment of gifts to charitable organizations. 

Under the individual income tax, for instance, individuals who itemize their deductions 

may subtract charitable contributions from their taxable income in determining their tax 

liability. Similarly, corporations may reduce their taxable profits by transfers to charity. 

In the case of both individuals and corporations the allowable deduction is limited to 

some fraction of income and profits. In contrast, an unlimited deduction is available for 

charitable bequests under the estate tax. 

The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief summary of the rules that govern the tax 

treatment of charitable gifts, and review recent trends in charitable giving. For each type 

of donor, i.e. individuals, corporations, estates, and fiduciaries, I use tax return data to 

describe the profile of donors, and report the amount of transfers to charitable 

institutions. 

Section II describes the general tax rules that govern individual giving. It also provides 

statistics on the income of donors and the size and composition of contributions, 

including preliminary figures for non-cash giving. Section III addresses the rules that 

govern corporate giving, and describes the profile of C and S corporate donors. Section 

IV addresses charitable bequests using data reported on estate tax returns. Contributions 

reported on the income tax returns of estates and trusts are addressed in Section V. 

1
II. Individual Giving 

A. General Rules 

Individuals who make contributions to nonprofit organizations may claim a deduction 

against their taxable income. There are a number of filing requirements and limitations 

that shape the deductibility of these contributions. Contributions are reported on Schedule 

A of Form 1040, differentiated by cash and non-cash contributions; non-cash 

contributions for which a deduction in excess of $500 is claimed must also be itemized 

on Form 8283. 

In the case of contributions of property, the amount of the deduction is generally equal to 

the fair market value (FMV) of the property on the date of contribution. However, for 

certain contributions of property, if the taxpayer’s basis is less than FVM, the amount of 

the deduction is limited to basis (typically the cost of acquisition).1

 

The deductibility of contributions is subject to a number of limitations that depend on the 

underlying nature of the contributed asset and the type of recipient organization. The total 

deduction for charitable contributions by an individual taxpayer may not exceed 50 

percent of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income (AGI), disregarding any net operating 

loss (NOL) carryback. The total deduction for contributions of capital gain property to 

public charities generally may not exceed 30 percent of the taxpayer’s AGI. Deductions 

for contributions of cash to private foundations generally may not exceed 30 percent of 

the taxpayer’s AGI. And last, deductions for contributions of capital gain property to 

 

1

 Special rules enacted in 2004 apply in the case of donations of qualified vehicles and intellectual 

property. See sec. 170(f)(12), sec. 170(e)(1)(B)(iii) and Sec. 170(m). 

2
private foundations generally may not exceed 20 percent of the taxpayer’s AGI. 

Contributions in excess of the allowable limit may be carried over and deducted over the 

next five taxable years, subject to the relevant percentage limitations on the deduction in 

each of those years. 

In addition to the percentage limitations imposed on deductions for charitable 

contributions, present law imposes a limitation on most itemized deductions, including 

charitable contribution deductions, for taxpayers with AGI in excess of a certain 

threshold amount that is indexed annually for inflation. The threshold amount for 2005 is 

$145,950 ($72,975 for married individuals filing separate returns). For those taxpayers 

who are subject to the limit, the total amount of itemized deductions permitted is reduced 

by the lesser of (1) 3 percent of the difference between AGI and threshold amount and (2) 

80 percent of the itemized deductions subject to the limit.2

 Beginning in 2006, the 

Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 phases-out the overall 

limitation on itemized deductions for all taxpayers. The overall limitation on itemized 

deductions is reduced by one third in taxable years 2006 and 2007, and by two-thirds in 

taxable years 2008 and 2009. The overall limitation on itemized deductions is eliminated 

for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2009; however, this elimination of the 

limitation sunsets on December 31, 2010. 

B. Reported Contributions and Deductions 

 

2

 In other words, the reduction is the smaller of 0.03 x (AGI - $145,950) and 0.80 x (Total Allowable 

Itemized Deductions - Deductions for Medical Expenses, Investment Interest, Theft and Casualty Losses, 

and Deduction for Gambling Losses). 

3
Statistics on income sources and deductions are available from tax return data prepared 

by the Statistics of Income Division of the Internal Revenue Service (SOI). Of the 130 

million income tax returns filed in tax year 2002, 45.6 million taxpayers itemized 

deductions as shown in Table 1. Of these itemizers, 40.4 million, or about 90 percent, 

claimed a deduction for charitable contributions. A total of $141 billion in contributions 

were deducted. This represents about 15 percent of the itemized deductions reported on 

schedule A, and about 3.7 percent of the AGI (Table 1). 

About $142 billion in contributions were reported in 2002, or $108 billion in cash and 

$34 billion in non-cash contributions (Table 2). Nearly 24 million taxpayers made noncash contributions representing about 25 percent of total contributions. In addition, $38 

billion in unused contributions were carried over to 2002 from prior years. Combined 

these sums exceed the claimed deduction by $40 billion which is available to be carried 

over to 2003. 

There is considerable dispersion in the propensity to give among taxpayers with the same

income (Table 3). For donors with AGI between $100,000 and $200,000, for instance, 

compare the 2.5 million who donated less than one percent of their income to the 74,000 

who donated 20 to 50 percent of their income. About 1.4 million, or 3.5 percent of the 40 

million donors, gave 20 to 50 percent of theirs income.

3

 In contrast, 11 million, or 28 

percent of donors, gave less than one percent of their income. Overall, the median 

fraction of income donated is slightly over two percent. 

 

3

 This represents the number of taxpayers potentially constrained by the statutory limits on deductible 

contributions. 

4
The overwhelming majority of the 40 million individual taxpayers reporting contributions 

claimed small deductions. Less than 5 percent of these taxpayers deducted $10,000 or 

more (Table 4). However, these larger donors accounted for about 42 percent of the total 

claimed deductions. Only 131 thousand taxpayers reported deductions in excess of 

$50,000, representing one third of one percent of all donors. These taxpayers accounted 

for some 20 percent of the total claimed deductions. 

C. Non-Cash Contributions 

Taxpayers claiming a deduction for contributions of non-cash property valued in excess 

of $500 are required to file Form 8283 with the IRS. On this form, donors describe the 

type of property contributed and provide information on how fair market value was 

determined.4

Preliminary data from Form 8283 for tax year 2003 show that gifts of corporate stock 

form the largest share of non-cash contributions. About $10 billion in gifts of corporate 

stock are reported (Table 5), with an average value per return of over $57,000. Gifts of 

clothing and real estate are the next largest categories, valued at $5.8 billion and $3.8 

billion respectively. When all personal items (i.e., clothing, household items and 

furniture, and cars and other vehicles) are combined, however, they make up the largest 

category with a total value over $11 billion. On a per return basis, the largest average 

deduction claimed is for donations of easements ($951,000), followed by financial 

securities ($105,000 for mutual finds and $192,000 for other securities), and finally by 

 

4 See sec 170(f)(11) for reporting and appraisal requirements. 

5
real estate ($184,000). Also on a per return basis, the smallest average deductions 

claimed are for donations of food ($478), and computer equipment ($797). 

D. Compliance

Not all reported contributions reflect the true value of the amounts transferred to charity. 

Some individuals, deliberately or otherwise, overstate the value of the property 

contributed to charity. It is possible to measure the size of these misreported contributions 

using data from the Taxpayer Compliance Measurement Program (TCMP). The TCMP 

data provide information on the amount of contributions as reported by the taxpayer and 

the value as corrected upon audit obtained from a national random sample of tax returns. 

Tables 6 and 7 report the amount of contributions claimed both as reported by the 

taxpayer and as corrected upon audit from the 1985 TCMP.5

 Corrected contributions 

represent about 91 percent of the amounts reported by the taxpayers (itemizers in Table 

6).6 In other words, almost 10 percent of the amounts reported were disqualified upon 

audit. The noncompliance rate declines with income, except for those with very low AGI. 

Table 7 provides similar statistics on contributions claimed by non-itemizers to allow for 

comparisons in compliance patterns.7

 Much of the deductions are concentrated among 

 

5

 Tax year 1988 is the last year a TCMP study was undertaken. Tax year 1985 is an interesting period in

that taxpayers were able to claim a deduction for contributions by adding them to their other itemized 

deductions, or as an above the line deduction. With the repeal of the above-the-line deduction in 1986, the 

1985 TCMP study represents the only source of information of the noncompliance pattern of non-itemizers. 6

 These are classified by size of expanded AGI, defined as the adjusted gross income plus excluded capital

gains. 7

 Because of possible interactions between above-the- line deductions and itemized deductions of charitable 

contributions, all observations showing itemized deductions are excluded. Upon audit, for instance, a 

6
taxpayers with AGI under $50,000. The corrected deduction represents about 82 percent 

of the reported amount. In other words, some 18 percent of the deductions were 

disqualified. Overall, there seems to be less compliance with the reporting of

contributions as above-the-line deduction than the reporting of itemized deductions. 

When the comparison is limited to comparable income groups, however, much of the 

difference in compliance patterns dissipates. 

III. Corporate Giving 

A. General Rules 

As with individuals, corporations are also allowed a deduction for contributions to 

charitable organizations. Under present law, a corporation is allowed to deduct charitable 

contributions up to 10 percent of its taxable income for the year. For this purpose, taxable 

income is determined without regard to (1) the charitable contributions deduction, (2) any 

net operating loss carryback, (3) deductions for dividends received, (4) deductions for 

dividends paid on certain preferred stock of public utilities, and (5) any capital loss 

carryback to the taxable year.8

 Any charitable contribution by a corporation that is not 

currently deductible because of the percentage limitation may be carried over for up to 

five taxable years. 

A transfer of property by a business to a charity might qualify as either a charitable 

contribution or a deductible business expense. However, no deduction is allowed as a 

business expense for any contribution that would be deductible as a charitable gift were it 

 taxpayer may shift from one form of deductions to another. This constraint is relaxed, and the unadjusted

figures are reported in the last row of the table. 

7
not for the percentage limitations on the charitable contributions deduction.9

 Further, a

business transfer made with a reasonable expectation of financial return commensurate 

with the amount of the transfer is not generally deductible as a charitable contribution. 

The tax treatment of donations of property by businesses depends on the type of property. 

For example, for a donation of capital gain property, a business generally may deduct the 

fair market value of the property. Since 1969, the deduction for charitable contributions 

of inventory property generally has been limited to the lesser of the taxpayer’s basis 

(typically cost) or fair market value.10

C corporations may claim an “enhanced” deduction in excess of basis for certain 

contributions of inventory property.11 This augmented deduction is equal to the lesser of 

(1) basis plus one-half of the item’s appreciated value or (2) two times basis. The 

limitation to twice the taxpayer’s basis in the donated property means that the maximum 

subsidy rate is 70 percent of the taxpayer’s cost (0.35 * 2 * basis). 

This enhanced deduction for inventory property is available only for certain specific 

types of contributions: (1) property used by the charity solely for the care of the ill, the 

needy, or infants;12 (2) scientific property to be used by educational or scientific research

organizations for research or experimentation or research training in the physical or 

 8

 Sec. 170(b)(2) 9

 Sec. 162(b) 

10 See sec 170(f)(11) for reporting and appraisal requirements. 11 The augmented deduction for scientific property and computer technology and equipment is generally

available to corporations except for S corporations, personal holding companies (sec. 542), and service 

organizations (sec. 414(m)(3)). 12 Sec 170(e)(3) 

8
biological sciences;13 (3) computer technology and equipment for certain educational 

purposes.14 The last provision includes contributions for elementary and secondary 

school educational purposes, and public libraries. 

To be eligible for the enhanced deduction under section 170(e)(3), the inventory must be 

contributed to a charitable organization (other than a private nonoperating foundation) 

which must (1) use the property consistent with its exempt purpose solely for the care of 

the ill, the needy, or infants, (2) not transfer the property in exchange for money, other 

property, or services, and (3) provide the taxpayer a written statement that the donee’s 

use of the property will be consistent with these requirements. To claim the enhanced 

deduction, the taxpayer must establish that the fair market value of the donated item

exceeds basis. For donations of drugs to be eligible for the enhanced deduction, they 

must meet the requirements of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. 

Additional requirements must be met for each type of enhanced deduction. For example, 

for donations of computer equipment and technology to schools to be eligible, the 

contribution must be made no later than three years after the taxpayer acquired the 

property or, if the taxpayer constructed the property, no later than the date that 

construction of the property is substantially completed, and the donated property must fit 

productively into the donee’s education plan. 

B. Timing of Gifts 

 

13 Sec. 170(e)(4) 14 Sec. 170(e)(6) 

9
The timing of gifts and when a corporation may claim a deduction for such transfers 

depends on the accounting method employed by the taxpayer. In the case of the cash 

method of accounting, a corporation deducts contributions in the year they are made. 

Under the accrual method of accounting, however, a corporation can elect to deduct 

unpaid contributions for the tax year the board of directors authorizes them if it pays 

them within 2 1/2 months after the close of that tax year. This election can be made only 

at the time of the filing of the return. The choice is made by reporting the contribution on 

the corporation’s return for the tax year, which must be accompanied by a declaration 

stating that the board of directors adopted the resolution during the tax year. The 

declaration must include the date the resolution was adopted. 

C. Reported Contributions 

Profitable C corporations contributed about one percent of their profits to charity in 2002 

(Table 8). Only 38 percent of these firms reported making such contributions. More 

specifically, about 345,000 C corporations reported charitable contributions in tax year 

2002, and claimed $9.5 billion in deductions. 

Similarly, 38 percent of all S corporations reported giving to charity, with contributions 

that represent 1.6 percent of income. Approximately 700,000 S corporations, which are 

not subject to the corporate level tax, claimed $3.5 billion in charitable contributions. 

These were reported on Schedule K of Form 1120S, and deducted on Form 1040, 

Schedule A, of the shareholder’s personal income tax return 

10
The size of deducted contributions is highly skewed as shown in Table 9. Only 10 C 

corporations reported deductions in excess of $100 million, and roughly account for 19 

percent of all gifts. S corporations not only give to charity with greater relative frequency 

than their C counterparts (Table 8), but also seem to give more of their income as 

illustrated by the last column of Table 9. 

The overwhelming majority of corporations, both C and S, allocate a small fraction of 

their income to charity. As shown in Table 10, about 20 percent give at least 10 percent 

of their profits, the statutory limit on deductibility. For those who give at the 10 percent 

level and above, S corporations seem more generous. However, to the extent that S 

corporations are not constrained by the 10 percent limit on giving, direct comparisons 

may not be very useful. 

IV. Charitable Bequests 

A. General Rules 

The wealthy may allocate a portion of their accumulated wealth to charity at death. These 

bequests are deductible in computing the taxable estate for purposes of the federal estate 

tax. Unlike individual and corporate giving, however, charitable bequests are unlimited 

and fully deductible in computing the estate tax liability. 

B. Reported Bequests 

As illustrated in Table 11, some 73,000 estates filed estate tax returns in 2003. Of these, 

13,400 or 18 percent of all estates provided for charitable bequests. A total of $14.8 

11
billion in transfers were deducted, over half of which were contributed by estates with 

wealth in excess of $10 million. On average, about 11 percent of the least wealthy estates 

report charitable bequests, a fraction that rises with wealth to 47 percent for those with 

wealth in excess of $20 million. The fraction of wealth bequeathed to charity also rises 

with wealth, to a high of 16 percent for those with wealth in excess of $20 million. 

Overall, estates bequeath 7 percent of their wealth to charity, benefiting 47,472 charities. 

As with wealth, the propensity to give also rises with the age of the decedent (Table 12). 

The fraction of estates reporting charitable bequests rises with age and peaks at 29.7 

percent for decedents age 85 and over. Similarly, the fraction of wealth bequeathed to 

charity peaks at 17.8 percent for the oldest group. 

Focusing on donors only, as in Table 13, decedents left about 29 percent of their wealth 

to charity. About half bequeathed less than 10 percent of their wealth. In contrast, about 

20 percent left 50 percent or more of their estates to charity, and accounted for about 75 

percent of all bequests. The average number of recipient charities rises with the 

propensity to give. But interestingly, it peaks at those who give 20 to 30 percent of their 

wealth. 

As with individuals and corporations, the size of charitable bequests is highly skewed 

with only 88 estates contributing over $20 million but accounting for 30 percent of all 

giving. Deductions below $1 million account for 78 percent of all donors, but only for 11 

percent of charitable bequests. Despite the wide dispersion in the size of the charitable 

12
bequests, there is relatively little variation in the average number of charities benefiting 

from these transfers as can be deduced from the last column of Table 14. 

Some 40 percent of donors provide for charitable bequests to only one charity. At the 

other extreme, some 5 percent of estates provide bequests to 10 or more charities. The 

relative frequency, as shown in Table 15, declines with the number of beneficiary 

charities. Very few donors give to more than a handful of organizations. 

As reported in Table 16, the largest beneficiaries of these bequests are the philanthropies 

(usually private foundations), educational institutions, followed by religious institutions. 

Combined, these three categories account for 70 percent of all charitable bequests 

reported on federal estate tax returns. The majority of donors, some 55 percent, give to 

religious institutions. But these account for less than nine percent of total charitable 

bequests. 

V. Contributions by Fiduciaries 

A. General Rules 

Estates and trusts may accumulate income from assets bequeathed to charity during the 

period of administration prior to distribution of the bequests to the charitable 

beneficiaries. These entities may deduct distributions to charitable organizations paid 

from income (as well as income held for eventual distribution to charity) in computing 

their taxable income. These contributions are deductible without the income or AGI 

13
limitations encountered by individuals.15 However, estates and trusts cannot claim any 

deduction for contributions of property that does not constitute income. 

B. Reported Contributions 

Of the 3.4 million estate and trust income tax returns filed for tax year 1997, some 79,000 

(2.3 percent) reported charitable contributions. As gleaned from fiduciary income tax 

returns, Form 1041, these entities reported $4 billion in contributions, half of which are 

accounted for by those with income in excess of $1 million (Table 17). 

These trusts may take a number of organizational forms (Table 18). Sixty percent of 

donors, for instance, are complex trusts which also account for 60 percent of the gifts. 

Estates of decedents in 1997 and prior years that are still open account for a quarter of the 

donors and 20 percent of the contributions. 

V. Concluding Comment 

This paper provides a short primer on the various rules that govern the tax treatment of

contributions to nonprofit organizations. It also provides statistics on the size and 

composition of gifts that are generally not available or at least not easily accessible to 

students of the nonprofit sector. 

Charitable giving by individuals, not surprisingly, swamps contributions by all other 

donors. Charitable bequests are a distant second, but their relative importance is masked 

by the expanding filing threshold and the declining number of estates required to file tax 

 

15 Section 642(c) 

14
returns. Corporations also represent an important source of philanthropic support. 

However, because some of their contributions are deducted as business expenses, as in

the case of wages of personnel detailed to nonprofit and governmental organizations, 

their generosity is understated. On the other hand, some of their reported contributions 

may reflect a tax sheltering strategy and not necessarily a manifestation of their 

generosity, and thus overstate the actual benefit accruing to charity. 

Statistics on the pattern of charitable giving reported above are likely to change over 

time. Changes in the circumstances of taxpayers and the evolving tax Code may very 

well alter the size and composition of charitable gifts. Legislation enacted in 2004, for 

instance, is expected to curtail the problem of taxpayers claiming inflated deductions for 

gifts of vehicles and certain intellectual property and may lead to a reduction in the 

reported deductions. 

15
Table 1 

Income Tax Returns Filed for Tax Year 2002 

(Returns in 1000s, amounts in $millions) 

Adjusted Gross Income Itemized Deductions Charitable 

Size of AGI Returns Amount Returns AGI Amount Returns 

Under 1 1,760 -80,229 2 -1 33 2 

1 to 10,000 24,280 124,930 875 5,414 11,846 587 

10,000 to 20,000 23,438 348,621 2,412 37,219 29,664 1,882 20,000 to 30,000 18,598 459,420 3,750 94,381 46,593 3,021 30,000 to 40,000 13,980 485,753 4,749 166,860 60,061 3,962 40,000 to 50,000 10,527 471,706 4,953 222,916 67,592 4,199 50,000 to 75,000 17,412 1,067,421 11,301 701,616 175,483 10,109 75,000 to 100,000 9,258 795,250 7,646 658,891 143,289 7,121 

100,000 to 200,000 8,409 1,108,352 7,691 1,018,662 199,560 7,326 200,000 to 500,000 1,908 548,736 1,804 517,933 83,395 1,737 500,000 to 1,000,000 337 226,946 310 208,481 27,814 301 

1,000,000 or more 169 475,779 155 447,430 52,718 151 

Totals 130,076 6,032,683 45,648 4,079,802 898,047 40,400 

Note: Some 158,000 returns reported contributions of $200 million, with zero deduction. These are excluded figures. 

16
Table 2 

Charitable Contributions Reported on Individual Tax Returns in Tax Year 2002, by Size of A

(Returns in 1000s, amounts in $millions) 

Charitable Deduction Cash Contributions Non-cash Contributions 

Size of AGI Returns Amount Returns Amount Returns Amount 

Under 1 2 0 2 1 1 0 

1 to 10,000 587 705 534 988 214 122 

10,000 to 20,000 1,882 3,242 1,795 2,896 801 475 20,000 to 30,000 3,021 5,711 2,840 4,616 1,615 1,112 30,000 to 40,000 3,962 7,712 3,677 6,404 2,221 1,365 40,000 to 50,000 4,199 8,636 3,979 7,012 2,415 1,608 50,000 to 75,000 10,109 23,574 9,627 19,365 6,033 4,233 75,000 to 100,000 7,121 20,254 6,838 16,582 4,621 3,910 

100,000 to 200,000 7,326 28,391 7,095 22,622 4,911 6,137 200,000 to 500,000 1,737 14,998 1,710 11,715 1,075 3,649 500,000 to 1,000,000 301 6,537 298 4,769 164 1,839 

1,000,000 or more 151 20,811 150 11,159 73 9,844 

Totals 40,400 140,571 38,545 108,130 24,145 34,293 

Note: Some 158,000 returns reported contributions of $200 million, with zero deduction. These are excluded figures. 

17
Table 3 

Number of Individual Tax Returns in Tax Year 2002 Claiming a Deduction for Contribution

by Size of AGI and Ratio of Contributions to AGI 

(Returns in 1000s, fraction in percent) 

Charitable Contributions as Percent of AGI 

Size of AGI 0-1 1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5 5-10 10-20 

1 to 10,000 25 30 22 28 33 106 107 

10,000 to 20,000 140 208 141 166 135 404 350 20,000 to 30,000 393 421 361 265 195 598 544 30,000 to 40,000 811 795 429 310 207 686 557 40,000 to 50,000 995 901 496 317 235 685 471 50,000 to 75,000 2,979 2,101 1,229 799 539 1,574 744 75,000 to 100,000 2,320 1,476 893 584 386 964 431 

100,000 to 200,000 2,543 1,657 1,015 555 388 785 309 200,000 to 500,000 656 432 215 112 68 158 60 500,000 to 1,000,000 131 64 33 18 11 25 10 

1,000,000 or more 77 25 12 7 5 11 7 

Total 11,070 8,109 4,845 3,161 2,203 5,996 3,592 

Source: Author’s calculations using 2002 SOI data. 

18
Table 4 

Charitable Contributions Reported on Individual Tax Returns in Tax Year 2002, by Size of Dedu

(Returns in 1000s, amounts in $millions) 

Charitable Deduction Cash Contributions Non-cash Contributions Carr

Size of Deduction Returns Amount Returns Amount Returns Amount R

1 to 100 1,098 54 1,013 50 130 6 

100 to 200 1,456 201 1,272 164 366 40 200 to 300 2,195 523 1,876 388 770 139 300 to 400 1,667 566 1,474 387 827 180 400 to 500 1,897 850 1,579 506 1,175 343 500 to 600 2,215 1,175 1,892 698 1,338 478 600 to 700 1,500 965 1,479 646 934 330 700 to 800 1,489 1,105 1,472 860 1,039 415 800 to 900 1,267 1,068 1,252 745 844 324 900 to 1,000 1,182 1,118 1,160 781 794 335 

1,000 to 5,000 17,951 43,233 17,627 34,368 12,046 8,948 5,000 to 10,000 4,493 30,700 4,468 26,395 2,710 4,408 

10,000 to 50,000 1,859 31,008 1,851 26,816 1,093 4,630 50,000 to 500,000 123 13,945 120 9,037 73 5,611 

500,000 or more 7 14,061 7 6,289 5 8,106 

Total 40,400 140,571 38,545 108,130 24,145 34,293 

Note: Some 158,000 returns reported contributions of $200 million, with zero deductions. These are excluded figures. 

19
Table 5 

Individual Non-Cash Contributions by Type, Preliminary 2003 Tax Year Figures 

Type of Donation Returns Amount ($000s) Averag

Corporate stock 174,726 10,008,495 57Mutual funds 5,810 612,153 105Other securities 5,131 986,490 192Real Estate 20,869 3,843,079 184Easements 2,865 2,724,906 951Art & collectibles 77,199 768,653 9Intellectual property 7,342 20,185 2Food 165,201 78,930 Clothing 4,047,305 5,806,731 1Computers & other electronic equipment 456,162 363,606 Household items & furniture 2,245,646 2,974,260 1Cars & other vehicles 801,058 2,401,168 2Other 798,596 1,443,990 1

20
Table 6 

Charitable Contributions Claimed as Itemized Deductions in 1985 

(Amounts in $ millions) 

Expanded Corrected Reported Corrected 

 AGI Number Amount Number Amount

Corrected/ 

Reported Amou

Under 1 45,271 44 50,854 49 11

1 10,000 1,254,922 774 1,187,176 726 9

10,000 25,000 7,862,930 6,076 7,263,634 5,288 825,000 50,000 17,437,918 15,931 16,589,462 14,052 850,000 75,000 5,403,751 8,097 5,349,298 7,327 975,000 100,000 1,258,919 2,893 1,241,800 2,698 9

100,000 200,000 1,056,655 4,412 1,046,185 4,243 9200,000 500,000 283,763 2,496 280,835 2,385 9500,000 and over 68,813 2,030 67,945 1,935 9

Total * 34,672,940 42,753 33,077,188 38,704 9

Unadjusted ** 35,040,480 42,998 33,572,144 38,949 9

* Excludes observations where contributions are reported both as above the line deduction and as an itemized ** Includes all observations. Source: Author’s calculations using 1985 TCMP data. 

21
Table 7 

Charitable Contributions Claimed as Above the Line Deduction in 1985 

(Amounts in $millions) 

Expanded Corrected Reported Corrected 

AGI Number Amount Number Amount

Corrected/ 

Reported Amo

Under 1 32,687 4 35,209 4 1

1 10,000 7,478,500 1,099 6,369,423 865 

10,000 25,000 12,015,035 2,389 10,387,289 1,895 25,000 50,000 4,329,807 990 4,096,130 912 50,000 75,000 262,640 76 233,137 67 75,000 100,000 45,148 16 46,130 15 

100,000 200,000 21,535 9 20,989 8 200,000 500,000 4,039 1 4,039 1 500,000 and over 443 0 443 0 1

Total * 24,189,836 4,584 21,192,788 3,767 

Unadjusted ** 24,435,160 4,697 21,569,550 3,880 

* Excludes observations where contributions are reported both as above the line deduction and as an itemized ** Includes all observations. Source: Author’s calculations using 1985 TCMP data. 

22
Table 8 

Contributions Reported on Corporate Tax Returns in Tax Year 2002 by Size of Net Income

(Amounts in $millions) 

Net Income Returns with Contributions 

($1000s) 

Number of 

Returns Net Income Number Amount

P

G

C Corporations with Net Income

 Under 500 985,707 33,486 323,112 555 

 500 to 1,000 14,285 10,248 7,820 117  1,000 to 10,000 19,361 59,588 11,077 588  10,000 to 50,000 4,184 92,195 2,066 736  50,000 to 100,000 838 59,010 426 439  100,000 to 500,000 906 194,627 524 2,037  500,000 to 1,000,000 131 89,731 96 1,222 

100,000 and over 107 297,620 95 3,856 

 Total 1,025,521 836,505 345,216 9,551 

S Corporations with Net Income

 Under 500 1,744,434 93,804 647,330 1,709 

 500 to 1,000 33,921 23,799 24,141 320  1,000 to 10,000 28,959 67,171 21,899 1,048  10,000 to 50,000 1,214 22,205 1,018 286  50,000 to 100,000 64 4,102 58 41 

100,000 and over 30 5,832 24 59 

 Total 1,808,623 216,913 694,471 3,463 

23
Table 9 

Contributions Reported on Corporate Tax Returns in Tax Year 2002 by Size of Deduction 

(Amounts in $millions) 

Size of Deduction ($1000s) Returns Net Income Deduction Percent of Inco

C Corporations 

Under 5 304,375 26,263 291 1.1

5 to 10 19,557 9,829 135 1.4

10 to 100 17,618 49,155 482 1.0

100 to 500 2,380 60,471 512 0.8

500 to 1,000 490 29,034 349 1.2

1,000 to 10,000 532 94,257 1,164 1.2

10,000 to 50,000 113 55,828 812 1.5

50,000 to 100,000 140 215,376 3,943 1.8

100,000 and over 10 48,608 1,863 3.8

Total 345,216 588,821 9,551 1.6

S Corporations 

Under 5 607,394 72,782 566 0.8

5 to 10 38,660 15,051 274 1.8

10 to 100 44,532 38,990 1,167 3.0

100 to 500 3,511 11,600 617 5.3500 to 1,000 217 2,686 143 5.3

1,000 to 5,000 143 3,304 261 7.95,000 and over 14 1,112 436 39.3

Total 694,471 145,524 3,463 2.4

24
Table 10 

Corporation Contributions by Size of Fraction of Net Income Contributed, Tax 2002 

(Amounts in $millions) 

Contribution/ 

Income Returns Net Income Contributions 

Contribution/

Income (%) 

C Corporations 

Under 0.01 85,333 369,089 1,618 0.4 

0.01 to 0.02 43,123 91,754 1,275 1.4 

0.02 to 0.03 29,367 35,911 875 2.4 

0.03 to 0.04 20,195 34,447 1,146 3.3 

0.04 to 0.05 15,551 7,815 347 4.4 

0.05 to 0.06 11,988 7,635 415 5.4 

0.06 to 0.07 8,770 12,191 817 6.7 

0.07 to 0.08 11,011 4,274 319 7.5 

0.08 to 0.09 8,150 3,402 285 8.4 

0.09 to 0.10 42,171 8,293 805 9.7 

0.10 and over 69,558 14,009 1,650 11.8 

Total 345,216 588,821 9,551 1.6 

S Corporations 

Under 0.01 303,282 96,553 283 0.3

0.01 to 0.02 97,176 20,184 284 1.4

0.02 to 0.03 58,602 8,196 202 2.5

0.03 to 0.04 38,721 4,871 168 3.4

0.04 to 0.05 23,733 2,645 117 4.4

0.05 to 0.06 21,988 2,507 136 5.4

0.06 to 0.07 10,652 1,615 104 6.4

0.07 to 0.08 14,393 1,335 100 7.5

0.08 to 0.09 9,456 990 84 8.5

0.09 to 0.10 10,431 781 74 9.5

0.10 and over 106,036 5,847 1,911 32.7

Total 694,471 145,524 3,463 2.4

25
Table 11 

Wealth and Charitable Bequests Reported on Estate Tax Returns Filed in 2003 

(Amounts in $millions) 

Wealth Wealth Charitable Bequests Beneficia

($1000s) Returns Amount Returns Fraction* Amount Percent* Number 

 Under 1,000 12,316 10,122 1,327 10.8 227 2.2 3,323 

1,000 to 1,500 27,561 33,470 4,698 17.0 1,199 3.6 16,607 1,500 to 2,000 12,110 20,739 2,311 19.1 862 4.2 7,808 2,000 to 2,500 6,035 13,391 1,230 20.4 814 6.1 4,766 2,500 to 5,000 9,797 33,294 2,131 21.8 2,228 6.7 8,216 5,000 to 10,000 3,408 23,072 945 27.7 1,661 7.2 3,410 

10,000 to 20,000 1,193 16,317 454 38.1 1,606 9.8 1,959 

Over 20,000 651 37,851 304 46.7 6,174 16.3 1,382 

All 73,072 188,255 13,399 18.3 14,772 7.8 47,472 

* Fraction or Percent of all returns. Wealth is defined as net worth less estate expenses. 

26
Table 12 

Charitable Bequests Reported on Estate Tax Returns Filed in 2003 

(Amounts in $millions) 

Wealth Charitable Bequests Benefici

Age Returns Amount Returns Fraction* Amount Percent* Number 

Under 21 56 110 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 

21 to 35 219 566 8 3.7 28 4.9 22 35 to 45 922 2,312 46 5.0 41 1.8 102 45 to 55 2,951 7,198 182 6.2 208 2.9 584 55 to 65 6,480 16,084 538 8.3 353 2.2 1,480 65 to 75 13,129 37,495 1,494 11.4 1,939 5.2 3,875 75 to 85 24,675 60,045 3,816 15.5 4,055 6.8 13,863 

over 85 24,639 64,446 7,315 29.7 8,149 12.6 27,545 

All 73,072 188,255 13,399 18.3 14,772 7.8 47,472 

* Fraction or percent of all returns. Wealth is defined as net worth less estate expenses. 

27
Table 13 

Fraction of Wealth Bequeathed to Charity, Returns filed in 2003 

(Wealth and bequests in $millions) 

Percent of 

Wealth Bequeathed Estates Wealth 

Charitable

Bequests 

Percent of 

Wealth 

Number of 

Charities Average

Under 1 3,686 12,367 45 0.4 6,907 1.87

1 to 5 2,852 9,654 252 2.6 7,769 2.725 to 10 962 3,488 254 7.3 3,253 3.38

10 to 20 1,299 5,072 744 14.7 5,099 3.9320 to 30 800 3,603 869 24.1 5,347 6.6830 to 40 504 2,119 743 35.1 2,274 4.5140 to 50 496 1,864 844 45.3 2,608 5.2650 to 99 2,434 12,057 9,705 80.5 12,608 5.18

100 367 1,317 1,316 99.9 1,607 4.38

All 13,399 51,541 14,772 28.7 47,472 3.54

Wealth is defined as net worth less estate expenses. 

28
Table 14 

Charitable Bequests Reported on Estate Tax Returns Filed in 2003 

(Wealth and bequests in $millions) 

Size of Deduction 

($1000s) 

Number 

of Estates Wealth 

Charitable 

Bequests 

Number of 

Charities 

Under 100 6,571 14,527 160 14,562

100 to 500 2,623 8,148 685 12,537500 to 1,000 1,344 4,665 976 6,197

1,000 to 1,500 1,046 2,761 1,243 4,6641,500 to 2,000 553 2,403 941 2,6722,000 to 2,500 293 1,302 655 1,6032,500 to 5,000 568 3,930 1,918 3,0535,000 to 10,000 218 2,957 1,513 1,026

10,000 to 20,000 94 2,383 1,297 69520,000 or over 88 8,464 5,386 462

All 13,399 51,541 14,772 47,472

Wealth is defined as net worth less estate expenses. 

. 

29
Table 15 

Number of Beneficiary Charities Reported on Estate Tax Returns Filed in 2003 

Number of 

Charities 

Number of 

Estates 

Relative 

Frequency 

Total Number of

Charities 

1 5,104 38.1 5,104

2 2,400 17.9 4,799

3 1,618 12.1 4,855

4 1,332 9.9 5,328

5 740 5.5 3,701

6 331 2.5 1,984

7 482 3.6 3,376

8 315 2.4 2,520

9 251 1.9 2,256

10 130 1.0 1,298

10+ 697 5.2 12,253

All 13,399 100.0 47,472

. 

30
Table 16 

Charitable Bequests Reported on Estate Tax Returns Filed in 2003 

Type 

Number 

of Estates

Amount 

($millions) 

Arts, culture, humanities 1,553 750 

Educational institutes 4,716 2,645 

Environmental quality, protection 504 155 

Animal-related activities 896 215 

Health-general & rehabilitative 2,684 788 

Mental health, crisis intervention 160 33 

Disease-disorder-medical disciplines 1,602 354 

Medical research 533 129 

Public protections/legal services 120 23 

Employment-jobs 197 12

Food, nutrition, agriculture 187 17 

Housing-shelter 439 73

Public safety/disaster relief, preparation 256 6 

Recreation-leisure-sports, athletics 252 56 

Youth development 383 33 

Human service - other multipurpose 3,336 808 

International 216 63

Civil rights-civil liberties 179 10 

Community improvement-development 377 65 

Philanthropy & voluntarism 2,546 6,324 

Science 79 27

Social sciences 12 0 

Public affairs-societal benefit 213 15 

Religion-spiritual development 7,250 1,301 

Mutual membership benefit organizations 196 18 

Unknown 1,621 851

Total, Charitable bequest deduction 13,399 14,772 

31
Table 17 

Charitable Contributions Reported on Fiduciary Income Tax Returns Filed in 1997 

By Size of Gross Income (Amount in $millions) 

Returns with Contributions 

Gross Income All Returns Returns Amount 

Under 1 1,314,936 2,534 17

1 to 100 75,062 727 2

100 to 1,000 322,781 4,290 7

1,000 to 10,000 703,361 20,276 73

10,000 to 100,000 821,898 35,407 617

100,000 to 1,000,000 129,339 13,755 1,299

1,000,000 and over 8,588 2,160 2,016

Total 3,375,965 79,149 4,032

Source: Mikow, Jacob M., Fiduciary Income Tax Returns, 1997, SOI Bulletin, Article, 

Winter 2000-2001. 

32
33

Table 18 

Charitable Contributions Reported on Fiduciary Income Tax Returns Filed in 1997 

By Type of Entity (Amounts in $millions) 

All Returns with Contributions 

Type Returns Number Amount 

Decedent Estate 411,744 19,236 809 

Simple Trust 692,144 8,287 189 

Complex Trust 1,098,363 47,016 2,518 

Grantor Trust 1,109,603 167 7 

Partial Grantor Trust 50,906 757 19 

Bankruptcy Trust 8,601 7 3 

Split-interest Trust 4,551 3,679 487 

All 3,375,965 79,149 4,032 

Source: Mikow, Jacob M., Fiduciary Income Tax Returns, 1997, Internal Revenue 

Service, SOI Bulletin, Winter 2000-2001.