July 13, 2000 | Read Time: 1 minute
New statistics released by the I.R.S. show that deductions claimed for charitable contributions rose from $99.2-billion in
1997 to an estimated $105.3-billion in 1998, an increase of 6.2 percent. The jump was significant but was sharply lower than the 15.1-percent rise registered from 1996 to 1997 and the 14.9-percent increase from 1995 to 1996.
The I.R.S. statistics show that the percentage of individual returns that included write-offs for donations edged up in 1998 to 27 percent of all returns, the highest share recorded in the 1990’s. The average contribution claimed on each return rose from $3,041 in 1997 to $3,123 in 1998. The figure was $1,958 in 1990 and $2,727 in 1996.
The I.R.S., which will revise the statistics in coming months before making them final, published the data in its Statistics of Income Bulletin for spring 2000. The report may be obtained for $22 a copy from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh 15250-7954.
