Religious Liberty and Charitable Donation Protection Act of 1998
PL 105-183 (S.1244), enacted 06/19/1998

PUBLIC LAW 105-183--JUNE 19, 1998 
112 STAT. 517 
Public Law 105-183 
105th Congress 
An Act 
To amend title 11, United States Code, to protect certain charitable contributions, 
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 "ReUgious Liberty and Charitable 
Donation Protection Act of 1998". 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
Section 548(d) of title 11, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
"(3) In this section, the term 'charitable contribution' means 
a charitable contribution, as that term is defined in section 170(c) 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, if that contribution— 
"(A) is made by a natural person; and 
"(B) consists o
f
— 
"(i) a financial instrument (as that term is defined 
in section 731(cX2XC) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986); or 
"(ii) cash. 
"(4) In this section, the term 'qualified religious or charitable 
entity or organization' means— 
"(A) an entity described in section 170(c)(1) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986; or 
"(B) an entity or organization described in section 170(c)(2) 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.". 
SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF PRE-PETITION QUALIFIED CHARITABLE CON-
TRIBUTIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 548(a) of title 11, United States Code, 
is amended— 
(1) by inserting "(1)" after "(a)"; 
(2) by striking "(1) made" £md inserting "(A) made"; 
(3) by striking "(2)(A)" and inserting "(B)(i)"; 
(4) by striking "(B)(i)" and inserting "(ii)(l)"; 
(5) by striking "(ii) was" and inserting "(II) was"; 
(6) by striking "(iii)" and inserting "(III)"; and 
(7) by adding at the end the following: 
"(2) A transfer of a charitable contribution to a qualified reli-
gious or charitable entity or organization shall not be considered 
to be a transfer covered under paragraph (1)(B) in any case in 
which— 
June 19, 1998 
[S. 1244] 
Religious Liberty 
and Charitable 
Donation 
Protection Act of 
1998 
11 use 101 note. 
112 STAT. 518 
PUBLIC LAW 105-183—JUNE 19, 1998 
"(A) the amount of that contribution does not exceed 15 
percent of the gross annual income of the debtor for the year 
in which the transfer of the contribution is made; or 
"(B) the contribution made by a debtor exceeded the 
percentage amount of gross annual income specified in subpara-
graph (A), if the transfer was consistent with the practices 
of the debtor in making charitable contributions.". 
(b) TRUSTEE AS LIEN CREDITOR AND AS SUCCESSOR TO CERTAIN 
CREDITORS AND PURCHASERS.—Section 544(b) of title 11, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) by striking "(b) The trustee" and inserting "(b)(1) Except 
as provided in paragraph (2), the trustee"; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
"(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a transfer of a charitable 
contribution (as that term is defined in section 548(d)(3)) that 
is not covered under section 548(a)(1)(B), by reason of section 
548(a)(2). Any claim by any person to recover a transferred contribu-
tion described in the preceding sentence under Federal or State 
law in a Federal or State court shall be preempted by the commence-
ment of the case.". 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 546 of title 11, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subsection (e)— 
(A) by striking "548(a)(2)" and inserting "548(a)(1)(B)"; 
and 
(B) by striking "548(a)(1)" and inserting "548(a)(1)(A)"; 
(2) in subsection (f)— 
(A) by striking "548(a)(2)" and inserting "548(a)(1)(B)"; 
and 
(B) by striking "548(a)(1)" and inserting "548(a)(1)(A)"; 
and 
(3) in subsection (g)— 
(A) by striking "section 548(a)(1)" each place it appears 
and inserting "section 548(a)(1)(A)"; and 
(B) by striking "548(a)(2)" and inserting "548(a)(1)(B)". 
SEC. 4. TREATMENT OF POST-PETITIGN CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS. 
(a) CONFIRMATION OF PLAN.—Section 1325(b)(2)(A) of title 11, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting before the semicolon 
the following: ", including charitable contributions (that meet the 
definition of 'charitable contribution' under section 548(d)(3)) to 
a qualified religious or charitable entity or organization (as that 
term is defined in section 548(d)(4)) in an amount not to exceed 
15 percent of the gross income of the debtor for the year in which 
the contributions are made". 
(b) DISMISSAL.—Section 707(b) of title 11, United States Code, 
is amended by adding at the end the following: "In making a 
determination whether to dismiss a case under this section, the 
court may not take into consideration whether a debtor has made, 
or continues to make, charitable contributions (that meet the defini-
tion of 'charitable contribution' imder section 548(d)(3)) to any quali-
fied religious or charitable entity or organization (as that term 
is defined in section 548(d)(4)).". 
11 use 544 note. 
SEC. 5. APPLICABILITY. 
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall apply 
to any case brought under an applicable provision of title 11, 
PUBLIC LAW 105-183-JUNE 19, 1998 
112 STAT. 519 
United States Code, that is pending or commenced on or after 
the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
11 USC 544 note. 
Nothing in the amendments made by this Act is intended 
to limit the appUcabiUty of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act 
of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 2002bb et seq.). 
Approved June 19, 1998. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 1244 (H.R. 2604): 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 105-556 accompanying H.R. 2604 (Comm. on the Judici-
ary). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 144 (1998): 
May 13, considered and passed Senate. 
June 3, considered and passed House. 
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 34 (1998): 
June 19, Presidential statement. 
59-194 O - 98 - 18: QL 3 Part 1