Rich Claim the Most Charitable Deductions

December 21, 2010

Scott A. Hodge

Scott A. Hodge

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

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