Members of Congress Seek to Derail IRS’ Proposed Change to ‘Giving Rule’

(CNSNews.com) -- Members of Congress in both the House and Senate are trying to legislatively derail a proposed Internal Revenue Service (IRS) “giving rule” that would change the way charitable gifts are reported.

The proposed amendment, which was published Sept. 17 in the Federal Register, would alter Section 170(f)(8) of the IRS Code that requires taxpayers seeking charitable tax exemptions to provide the IRS with a “contemporaneous written acknowledgement” (CWA) of any donations larger than $250.

It would give non-profits the option to file information on donors - including their Social Security numbers - on a new form that would be sent directly to the IRS no later than Feb. 28 of the year after the donation was made.

On Dec. 8, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) introduced a bill that would “prohibit the Internal Revenue Service from modifying or amending the standards and regulations governing the substantiation of charitable contributions.”

A similar bill introduced in the House by Congressmen Keith Rothfus (R-PA) and Brian Higgins (D-NY) would directly “prohibit the inclusion of social security numbers of donors in charitable contribution substantiation acknowledgeents.”

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