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Giving by bequest

Charitable bequests are estimated to be $22.66 billion in 2008, a decrease of 2. 8 percent (- 6. 4 percent adjusted for inflation) compared to the revised 2007 estimate of $23.31 billion, which is based on IRS information released in 2008 about charitable bequests in 2007.

Charitable bequests for 2008 are estimated to be 7 percent of total estimated giving.

The estimate for bequests includes gifts eligible to be claimed as charitable deductions when an estate files an estate tax return. This includes funds from trusts and other realized planned gifts.

 

Findings about charitable
bequests, 2008
Giving USA is no longer annually sur-
veying a national sample of charitable
organizations in the process of esti-
mating bequest totals.

The estimate for charitable bequests in 2008 includes an estimated $19.70 billion in charitable bequests from estates filing federal estate tax returns in 2008 and an estimated $2.96 billion from estates that do not file federal returns.

Among all deaths in the United States, an estimated 120,000 leave a charitable bequest each year. 1 The vast majority of the total estimated bequest amount (about 85 percent) is from approximately 8,000 estates that file estate tax returns and claim charitable deductions.

Since at least 2001, according to estate tax returns, on average 45 percent of the amount contributed by bequests has gone to foundations. The balance is divided among all other types of charities. If the percentage of bequest dollars going to foundations holds for 2008, then approximately $12.5 billion

in 2008 was bequeathed to charities other than foundations.

Charitable bequests fluctuate dramatically from year to year depending on the estates closed within a particular time. Peaks tend to represent a few very large estates filing an estate tax return in a given year.

The amount in charitable bequests has generally been lower since 2001 than it was in the 1990s. This might be the result of the 2001 Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. This legislation initiated gradual estate tax reductions over the course of nine years, which will culminate in a total repeal of the estate tax in 2010. This analysis, however, is insufficient to draw the conclusion that the drop in bequests is caused by the changes in estate tax legislation, as a number of other factors have also shifted since 2001. These factors include increasing longevity (which reduces assets at the time of death), changes in the market values for assets, and a shift among high-net-worth donors who have said they prefer to give during their lifetimes.