July 21, 2005 | Read Time: 1 minute
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New statistics released by the Internal Revenue Service show that deductions claimed for charitable contributions declined in 2003, falling from $140.6-billion in 2002 to $139.7-billion in 2003, a drop of less than 1 percent. The IRS will revise the statistics in coming months before making them final. The figures show that the percentage of returns that included write-offs for donations edged down from 2002 to 2003, from 31.1 percent to 29.6 percent of all returns filed by Americans. The number of returns with charitable deductions dropped from 40.4 million in 2002 to 38.6 million in 2003. The average contribution claimed on a return rose from $3,480 in 2002 to $3,614 in 2003. The figure peaked at $3,749 in 2000. The IRS published the data in its Statistics of Income Bulletin for spring 2005. The bulletin may be obtained for $39 from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15250-7954. The statistics are free online. To view the updated information on charitable donations, go to http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/article/0,,id=115033,00.html and select Table 1. |
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