Congress is pressing forward this week with a $1.66 trillion omnibus appropriations bill to fund the federal government for the rest of its fiscal year. The bill addresses many significant matters such as the continuation of a prohibition against federal funds being used for abortion and new policies aimed at spurring retirement savings. However, noticeably absent from the 4,155-page bill are extensions of a number of tax policies, including the Universal Charitable Deduction (UCD). 

The 2020 CARES Act and follow-up legislation provided for a $300 charitable deduction for non-itemizers ($600 for couples). That small UCD helped fuel increases in giving in 2020 and 2021, according to the Charitable Giving Coalition. However, this provision expired at the end of 2021.

While seemingly of interest to several key Members of Congress, a UCD extension did not make it into the omnibus as many had hoped -- including ECFA, which participated in a targeted advocacy day on this matter in November. Of note, however, numerous other tax matters were also left on the bill's cutting room floor. For example, neither a continued expansion of the Child Tax Credit favored by many Democrats nor a Research & Development provision championed by Republicans was included in the bill.

ECFA will continue to monitor this matter closely. We are committed to urging legislators to support charitable giving incentives, particularly the successful universal charitable deduction. For more news items from Capitol Hill, scroll the headlines at ECFA.org/news.