Rich Claim the Most Charitable Deductions
Since this is the season for giving it is interesting to see which taxpayers claim the most in charitable deductions. According to the latest IRS statistics, some 39 million taxpayers claimed nearly $173 billion in charitable deductions (both cash and non-cash) in 2008.
Perhaps not surprisingly, 65 percent of the total amount of charitable deductions were claimed by taxpayers earning over $100,000. Indeed, the largest share of charitable contributions, 23 percent, were taken by taxpayers earning between $100,000 and $200,000 while another 14 percent was claimed by taxpayers earning between $200,000 and $500,000.
The third-largest amount of charitable deductions, $20.3 billion, was claimed by taxpayers earning over $10 million. Overall, taxpayers earning over $500,000 claimed nearly $49 billion in charitable deductions, 28 percent of the total.
|
Returns Claiming Charitable Deduction |
Total Amount of Deductions Claimed (In Thousands) |
Percent of Deductions Claimed |
|
|
All returns, total |
39,250,369 |
$172,936,002 |
100% |
|
Under $5,000 |
228,598 |
$154,850 |
0% |
|
$5,000 under $10,000 |
354,600 |
$480,688 |
0% |
|
$10,000 under $15,000 |
575,016 |
$917,550 |
1% |
|
$15,000 under $20,000 |
762,923 |
$1,498,354 |
1% |
|
$20,000 under $25,000 |
901,975 |
$1,835,152 |
1% |
|
$25,000 under $30,000 |
1,106,054 |
$2,287,265 |
1% |
|
$30,000 under $35,000 |
1,295,896 |
$2,741,766 |
2% |
|
$35,000 under $40,000 |
1,460,473 |
$3,120,398 |
2% |
|
$40,000 under $45,000 |
1,525,136 |
$3,422,544 |
2% |
|
$45,000 under $50,000 |
1,630,249 |
$3,742,047 |
2% |
|
$50,000 under $55,000 |
1,598,584 |
$3,754,021 |
2% |
|
$55,000 under $60,000 |
1,581,115 |
$3,979,522 |
2% |
|
$60,000 under $75,000 |
4,738,720 |
$12,171,732 |
7% |
|
$75,000 under $100,000 |
6,837,149 |
$19,887,014 |
11% |
|
$100,000 under $200,000 |
10,741,655 |
$40,606,459 |
23% |
|
$200,000 under $500,000 |
3,093,905 |
$23,663,870 |
14% |
|
$500,000 under $1,000,000 |
519,888 |
$9,539,392 |
6% |
|
$1,000,000 — $1,500,000 |
129,171 |
$4,198,700 |
2% |
|
$1,500,000 — $2,000,000 |
55,094 |
$2,661,827 |
2% |
|
$2,000,000 — $5,000,000 |
80,873 |
$7,298,207 |
4% |
|
$5,000,000 — $10,000,000 |
20,263 |
$4,688,144 |
3% |
|
$10,000,000 or more |
13,031 |
$20,286,500 |
12% |
|
Source: IRS http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/08in21id.xls |
Was this page helpful to you?
Thank You!
The Tax Foundation works hard to provide insightful tax policy analysis. Our work depends on support from members of the public like you. Would you consider contributing to our work?
Contribute to the Tax FoundationLet us know how we can better serve you!
We work hard to make our analysis as useful as possible. Would you consider telling us more about how we can do better?
Give Us Feedback