Title: Everyday Philanthropist Act
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
Everyday Philanthropist Act
This bill allows employers to offer certain employees a tax-advantaged flexible giving account as a fringe benefit. Flexible giving accounts allow employees to set aside up to $5,000 of their annual pretax earnings to make tax-deductible charitable contributions without having to itemize tax deductions.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6616 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6616

  To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for flexible 
                giving accounts, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 26, 2018

 Mr. Paulsen (for himself, Mr. Gallagher, Mr. Walberg, Mr. Pocan, Mrs. 
Bustos, and Mr. Bera) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                   to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for flexible 
                giving accounts, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Everyday Philanthropist Act''.

SEC. 2. FLEXIBLE GIVING ACCOUNTS.

    (a) In General.--Subsection (a) of section 132 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``or'' at the end of 
paragraph (7), by striking the period at the end of paragraph (8) and 
inserting ``, or'', and by inserting after paragraph (8) the following:
            ``(9) flexible giving account.''.
    (b) Flexible Giving Account.--Section 132 of such Code is amended 
by redesignating subsection (o) as subsection (p) and by inserting 
after subsection (n) the following:
    ``(o) Flexible Giving Account.--
            ``(1) In general.--
                    ``(A) Flexible giving account.--For purposes of 
                this subsection, a flexible giving account is an 
                account under an arrangement which is a separate 
                written plan of an employer for the exclusive benefit 
                of all eligible employees under which--
                            ``(i) an employee may elect--
                                    ``(I) to receive a reduction in 
                                compensation and have the employer 
                                deposit the amount of the reduction in 
                                a flexible giving account of the 
                                electing employee, and
                                    ``(II) before the reduction under 
                                subclause (I), to designate one or more 
                                entities to which distributions are to 
                                be made from the account,
                            ``(ii) the employer, as soon after the 
                        deposit under clause (i)(I) as practicable, 
                        makes the disbursements designated under clause 
                        (i),
                            ``(iii) the employer provides reasonable 
                        notification of the availability and terms of 
                        the arrangement to all eligible employees,
                            ``(iv) the employer maintains a separate 
                        flexible giving account on behalf of each 
                        employee for whom an election is in effect 
                        clause (i), and
                            ``(v) the employer agrees to furnish to 
                        each participating employee, on or before 
                        January 31 of each year, a written accounting 
                        of the employee's flexible giving account 
                        showing deposits and disbursements during the 
                        previous calendar year.
                    ``(B) Maximum reduction.--The amount of a reduction 
                under subparagraph (A) for a taxable year shall not 
                exceed $5,000.
            ``(2) Eligible employee.--For purposes of this subsection--
                    ``(A) In general.--
                            ``(i) Eligible employee.--The term 
                        `eligible employee' means, with respect to a 
                        flexible giving account, any employee who is 
                        not a highly compensated or key employee and 
                        who is eligible to participate in the 
                        arrangement.
                            ``(ii) Highly compensated employee.--The 
                        term `highly compensated employee' has the 
                        meaning given such term by section 414(q).
                            ``(iii) Key employee.--The term `key 
                        employee' has the meaning given such term by 
                        section 416(i).
                    ``(B) Certain employees may be excluded.--For 
                purposes of subparagraph (A), an employer may elect to 
                exclude under the arrangement described in paragraph 
                (1) any employee who--
                            ``(i) has not attained the age of 21 before 
                        the close of a plan year of the arrangement,
                            ``(ii) has less than 1 year of service with 
                        the employer as of any day during the plan 
                        year, and
                            ``(iii) is described in section 
                        410(b)(3)(C) (relating to nonresident aliens 
                        working outside the United States).
                    ``(C) Shorter service period; younger age.--An 
                arrangement may provide a shorter period of service or 
                younger age for purposes of subparagraph (B).
            ``(3) Tax treatment of distributions.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Any distribution from a flexible 
                giving account shall be includible in the gross income 
                of the distributee in the manner as provided in section 
                72.
                    ``(B) Exception for charitable contributions.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Subparagraph (A) shall 
                        not apply to any distribution which is a 
                        charitable contribution made pursuant to 
                        paragraph (1).
                            ``(ii) Coordination with section 170.--
                        Distributions from the flexible giving account 
                        of an employee--
                                    ``(I) shall be treated as a 
                                charitable contribution of the 
                                employee,
                                    ``(II) shall not be taken into 
                                account under section 170(a) (relating 
                                to allowance of deduction), but
                                    ``(III) shall be taken into account 
                                under section 170(b) (relating to 
                                percentage limitation).
                    ``(C) Additional tax for distributions not used for 
                charitable purposes.--The tax imposed by this chapter 
                for any taxable year on any taxpayer from whose 
                flexible giving account a distribution is made that is 
                includible in gross income shall be increased by 20 
                percent of the amount which is so includible.
                    ``(D) Identifying information.--No distribution 
                shall be excluded from the gross income under 
                subparagraph (B) unless the taxpayer provides on the 
                return of tax the name and address of the entity to 
                whom the distribution is made. In the case of a failure 
                to provide the information required by the preceding 
                sentence, the preceding sentence shall not apply if it 
                is shown that the taxpayer exercised due diligence in 
                attempting to provide the information so required.
            ``(4) Charitable contribution.--For purposes of this 
        section, the term `charitable contribution' has the meaning 
        given such term by section 170(c), except that such term 
        irrevocable transfers of funds and not just a pledges or 
        agreement to make a transfer in the future.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
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