January 29, 1998 | Read Time: 1 minute
Statistics released by the Internal Revenue Service show that deductions claimed for charitable contributions increased from $70.5-billion in 1994 to $75-billion in 1995, a rise of 6.3 per cent . The jump was in line with previous increases registered in most years since 1990.
The I.R.S. statistics show that the percentage of individual returns that included write-offs for donations continued to hold steady in 1995, at about a fourth of all returns.
The average contribution claimed on each return rose from $2,363 in 1994 to $2,455 in 1995. The figure was $1,326 in 1985 and $1,958 in 1990.
The data are in the I.R.S. Statistics of Income Bulletin for fall 1997. The report may be obtained for $18 a copy from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh 15250-7954.
