Title: Universal Giving Pandemic Response Act
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
Universal Giving Pandemic Response Act
This bill allows taxpayers who do not otherwise itemize their tax deductions to deduct from their gross income charitable contributions made in 2019 and 2020. The amount of such deduction may not exceed one-third of the taxpayer's standard deduction in any year.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4032 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4032

  To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow above-the-line 
 deductions for charitable contributions for individuals not itemizing 
                              deductions.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 22, 2020

Mr. Lankford (for himself, Mr. Coons, Mr. Lee, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Scott 
 of South Carolina, and Ms. Klobuchar) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow above-the-line 
 deductions for charitable contributions for individuals not itemizing 
                              deductions.

    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 ``Universal Giving Pandemic Response 
Act''.

SEC. 2. ABOVE-THE-LINE DEDUCTION FOR CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS FOR 
              INDIVIDUALS NOT ITEMIZING DEDUCTIONS.

    (a) In General.--Paragraph (22) of section 62(a) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows:
            ``(22) Charitable contributions for individuals not 
        itemizing deductions.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In the case of an individual who 
                does not elect to itemize deductions for the taxable 
                year, the deduction allowed by section 170 with respect 
                to charitable contributions (as defined in section 
                170(c)) made during the period beginning on January 1, 
                2019, and ending on December 31, 2020.
                    ``(B) Certain 2020 contributions deductible in 
                2019.--For purposes of this paragraph, an individual 
                may elect to treat any charitable contributions (as so 
                defined) made after December 31, 2019, and before July 
                15, 2020, as made in calendar year 2019 (and not to 
                claim a deduction for such contributions in 2020).
                    ``(C) Amended return permitted.--In the case of an 
                individual who has filed the return of tax for 2019 and 
                who did not elect to itemize deductions on such return, 
                such individual may file an amended return for such 
                year in order to apply subparagraph (A) or to make the 
                election under clause (i) (or both).
                    ``(D) Limitation.--The deduction to which 
                subparagraph (A) applies for any taxable year (after 
                the application of subparagraph (B)) shall not exceed 
                an amount equal to \1/3\ of the amount of the standard 
                deduction with respect to such individual for such 
                taxable year.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 62 of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986 is amended by striking subsection (f).
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to charitable contributions (as defined in section 170(c) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986) made after December 31, 2018.
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