Charitable Giving Tax Perk May Prove Ineffective, Hard to Police

A new $300 tax break for people who make charitable donations adds to the IRS’s workload while not necessarily boosting the nonprofit sector.

The above-the-line deduction—meaning people who take the standard deduction can claim it—was included in the third coronavirus response package (Public Law 116-136) and applies for tax years beginning in 2020. Since the existing charitable giving deduction is only available to those who itemize their taxes, the change makes the tax incentive more widely available.

But some are skeptical about what it will do and say it will be nearly impossible for the IRS to ...