United States 115th Congress Status: In Committee 1 R cosponsors

HR 2916 — Charities Helping Americans Regularly Throughout the Year Act of 2017

Last action — Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Track this bill free

No card. One bill, free forever — alerts when it moves.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 115th Congress. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

Charities Helping Americans Regularly Throughout the Year Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify several tax provisions affecting charitable contributions and tax-exempt organizations. The Internal Revenue Service may determine the standard mileage rate for deducting the cost of using a passenger automobile for charitable purposes (currently set by statute at 14 cents per mile), and the rate may not be less than the rate for medical purposes (17 cents per mile for 2017). The bill modifies the substantiation requirements for charitable contributions to eliminate an exemption for contributions that are reported on a return filed by a tax-exempt organization. Tax-exempt organizations must file their returns in electronic form. The bill excludes from the gross income of an individual who is at least 70-1/2 years of age up to $100,000 in distributions from an individual retirement plan to a donor-advised fund (DAF). The bill also modifies disclosure requirements for DAFs. (A DAF is a fund or account that is separately identified by reference to contributions of a donor or donors. The account is owned and controlled by a sponsoring charitable organization, while the donor retains advisory privileges with respect to the distribution and investment of funds in the account.) The bill reduces from 2% to 1% the excise tax on the investment income of private foundations and eliminates a provision that reduces the rate to 1% if a foundation meets certain distribution requirements. The bill exempts certain philanthropic business holdings from the tax on excess business holdings of private foundations if a foundation meets requirements for exclusive ownership, donating all profits to charity, and independent operation.

Bill Text

Sections of law this bill changes

5 sections in 3 laws

From the bill's own amending language, matched to the official United States Code (current through Public Law 119-121).

Normal taxes and surtaxes · 26 U.S.C. ch. 1 2 sections
  • § 170 Charitable, etc., contributions and gifts Amends

    26 U.S.C. § 170 — at 170(f)(8)

    The law today

    (a) Allowance of deduction (1) General rule There shall be allowed as a deduction any charitable contribution (as defined in subsection (c)) payment of which is made within the taxable year. A charitable contribution shall be allowable as a deduction only if verified under regulations prescribed by the Secretary. (2) Corporations on accrual basis In the case of a corporation reporting its taxable income on the accrual basis, if— (A) the board of directors authorizes a charitable contribution during any taxable year, and (B) payment of such contribution is made after the close of such taxable year and on or before the 15th day of the fourth month following the close of such taxable year, then the taxpayer may elect to treat such contribution as paid during such taxable year. The election may be made only at the time of the filing of the return for such taxable year, and shall be signified in such manner as the Secretary shall by regulations prescribe. (3) Future interests in tangible personal property For purposes of this section, payment of a charitable contribution which consists of a future interest in tangible personal property shall be treated as made only when all intervening interests in, and rights to the actual possession or enjoyment of, the property have expired or are held by persons other than the taxpayer or those standing in a relationship to the taxpayer described in section 267(b) or 707(b). For purposes of the preceding sentence, a fixture which is intended to be severed from the real property shall be treated as tangible personal property. (b) Percentage limitations (1) Individuals In the case of an individual, the deduction provided in subsection (a) shall be limited as provided in the succeeding subparagraphs. (A) General rule Any charitable contribution to— (i) a church or a convention or association of churches, (ii) an educational organization which normally maintains a regular faculty and curriculum and normally has a regularly enrolled body of pupils or students in attendance at the place where its educational activities are regularly carried on, (iii) an organization the principal purpose or functions of which are the providing of medical or hospital care or medical education or medical research, if the organization is a hospital, or if the organization is a medical research organization directly engaged in the continuous active conduct of medical research in conjunction with a hospital, and during the calendar year in which the contribution is made such organization is committed to spend such contributions for such research before January 1 of the fifth calendar year which begins after the date such contribution is made, (iv) an organization which normally receives a substantial part of its support (exclusive of income received in the exercise or performance by such organization of its charitable, educational, or other purpose or function constituting the basis for its exemption under section 501(a)) from the United States or any State or political subdivision thereof or from direct or indirect contributions from the general public, and which is organized and operated exclusively to receive, hold, invest, and administer property and to make expenditures to or for the benefit of a college or university which is an organization referred to in clause (ii) of this subparagraph and which is an agency or instrumentality of a State or political subdivision thereof, or which is owned or operated by a State or political subdivision thereof or by an agency or instrumentality of one or more States or political subdivisions, (v) a governmental unit referred to in subsection (c)(1), (vi) an organization referred to in subsection (c)(2) which normally receives a substantial part of its support (exclusive of income received in the exercise or performance by such organization of its charitable, educational, or other purpose or function constituting the basis for its exemption under section 501(a)) from a governme...

    119 other bills also change this section · Follow it → Official text at uscode.house.gov ↗

  • § 408 Individual retirement accounts Amends

    26 U.S.C. § 408 — at 408(d)(8)(B)

    The law today

    (a) Individual retirement account For purposes of this section, the term “individual retirement account” means a trust created or organized in the United States for the exclusive benefit of an individual or his beneficiaries, but only if the written governing instrument creating the trust meets the following requirements: (1) Except in the case of a rollover contribution described in subsection (d)(3) or in section 402(c), 403(a)(4), 403(b)(8), or 457(e)(16), no contribution will be accepted unless it is in cash, and contributions will not be accepted for the taxable year on behalf of any individual in excess of the amount in effect for such taxable year under section 219(b)(1)(A). (2) The trustee is a bank (as defined in subsection (n)) or such other person who demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the manner in which such other person will administer the trust will be consistent with the requirements of this section. (3) No part of the trust funds will be invested in life insurance contracts. (4) The interest of an individual in the balance in his account is nonforfeitable. (5) The assets of the trust will not be commingled with other property except in a common trust fund or common investment fund. (6) Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary, rules similar to the rules of section 401(a)(9) and the incidental death benefit requirements of section 401(a) shall apply to the distribution of the entire interest of an individual for whose benefit the trust is maintained. (b) Individual retirement annuity For purposes of this section, the term “individual retirement annuity” means an annuity contract, or an endowment contract (as determined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary), issued by an insurance company which meets the following requirements: (1) The contract is not transferable by the owner. (2) Under the contract— (A) the premiums are not fixed, (B) the annual premium on behalf of any individual will not exceed the dollar amount in effect under section 219(b)(1)(A), and (C) any refund of premiums will be applied before the close of the calendar year following the year of the refund toward the payment of future premiums or the purchase of additional benefits. (3) Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary, rules similar to the rules of section 401(a)(9) and the incidental death benefit requirements of section 401(a) shall apply to the distribution of the entire interest of the owner. (4) The entire interest of the owner is nonforfeitable. Such term does not include such an annuity contract for any taxable year of the owner in which it is disqualified on the application of subsection (e) or for any subsequent taxable year. For purposes of this subsection, no contract shall be treated as an endowment contract if it matures later than the taxable year in which the individual in whose name such contract is purchased attains the applicable age (determined under section 401(a)(9)(C)(v) for the calendar year in which such taxable year begins); if it is not for the exclusive benefit of the individual in whose name it is purchased or his beneficiaries; or if the aggregate annual premiums under all such contracts purchased in the name of such individual for any taxable year exceed the dollar amount in effect under section 219(b)(1)(A). (c) Accounts established by employers and certain associations of employees A trust created or organized in the United States by an employer for the exclusive benefit of his employees or their beneficiaries, or by an association of employees (which may include employees within the meaning of section 401(c)(1)) for the exclusive benefit of its members or their beneficiaries, shall be treated as an individual retirement account (described in subsection (a)), but only if the written governing instrument creating the trust meets the following requirements: (1) The trust satisfies the requirements of paragraphs (1) through (6) of subsection (a). (2) There is a separate ...

    98 other bills also change this section · Follow it → Official text at uscode.house.gov ↗

Private foundations; and certain other tax-exempt organizations · 26 U.S.C. ch. 42 2 sections
  • § 4940 Excise tax based on investment income Amends

    26 U.S.C. § 4940 — at 4940(a)

    The law today

    (a) Tax-exempt foundations There is hereby imposed on each private foundation which is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) for the taxable year, with respect to the carrying on of its activities, a tax equal to 1.39 percent of the net investment income of such foundation for the taxable year. (b) Taxable foundations There is hereby imposed on each private foundation which is not exempt from taxation under section 501(a) for the taxable year, with respect to the carrying on of its activities, a tax equal to— (1) the amount (if any) by which the sum of (A) the tax imposed under subsection (a) (computed as if such subsection applied to such private foundation for the taxable year), plus (B) the amount of the tax which would have been imposed under section 511 for the taxable year if such private foundation had been exempt from taxation under section 501(a), exceeds (2) the tax imposed under subtitle A on such private foundation for the taxable year. (c) Net investment income defined (1) In general For purposes of subsection (a), the net investment income is the amount by which (A) the sum of the gross investment income and the capital gain net income exceeds (B) the deductions allowed by paragraph (3). Except to the extent inconsistent with the provisions of this section, net investment income shall be determined under the principles of subtitle A. (2) Gross investment income For purposes of paragraph (1), the term “gross investment income” means the gross amount of income from interest, dividends, rents, payments with respect to securities loans (as defined in section 512(a)(5)), and royalties, but not including any such income to the extent included in computing the tax imposed by section 511. Such term shall also include income from sources similar to those in the preceding sentence. (3) Deductions (A) In general For purposes of paragraph (1), there shall be allowed as a deduction all the ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred for the production or collection of gross investment income or for the management, conservation, or maintenance of property held for the production of such income, determined with the modifications set forth in subparagraph (B). (B) Modifications For purposes of subparagraph (A)— (i) The deduction provided by section 167 shall be allowed, but only on the basis of the straight line method of depreciation. (ii) The deduction for depletion provided by section 611 shall be allowed, but such deduction shall be determined without regard to section 613 (relating to percentage depletion). (4) Capital gains and losses For purposes of paragraph (1) in determining capital gain net income— (A) There shall not be taken into account any gain or loss from the sale or other disposition of property to the extent that such gain or loss is taken into account for purposes of computing the tax imposed by section 511. (B) The basis for determining gain in the case of property held by the private foundation on December 31, 1969, and continuously thereafter to the date of its disposition shall be deemed to be not less than the fair market value of such property on December 31, 1969. (C) Losses from sales or other dispositions of property shall be allowed only to the extent of gains from such sales or other dispositions, and there shall be no capital loss carryovers or carrybacks. (D) Except to the extent provided by regulation, under rules similar to the rules of section 1031 (including the exception under subsection (a)(2) thereof), no gain or loss shall be taken into account with respect to any portion of property used for a period of not less than 1 year for a purpose or function constituting the basis of the private foundation’s exemption if the entire property is exchanged immediately following such period solely for property of like kind which is to be used primarily for a purpose or function constituting the basis for such foundation’s exemption. (5) Tax-exempt income For purposes of this section, net ...

    8 other bills also change this section · Follow it → Official text at uscode.house.gov ↗

  • § 4943 Taxes on excess business holdings Amends

    26 U.S.C. § 4943

    The law today

    (a) Initial tax (1) Imposition There is hereby imposed on the excess business holdings of any private foundation in a business enterprise during any taxable year which ends during the taxable period a tax equal to 10 percent of the value of such holdings. (2) Special rules The tax imposed by paragraph (1)— (A) shall be imposed on the last day of the taxable year, but (B) with respect to the private foundation’s holdings in any business enterprise, shall be determined as of that day during the taxable year when the foundation’s excess holdings in such enterprise were the greatest. (b) Additional tax In any case in which an initial tax is imposed under subsection (a) with respect to the holdings of a private foundation in any business enterprise, if, at the close of the taxable period with respect to such holdings, the foundation still has excess business holdings in such enterprise, there is hereby imposed a tax equal to 200 percent of such excess business holdings. (c) Excess business holdings For purposes of this section— (1) In general The term “excess business holdings” means, with respect to the holdings of any private foundation in any business enterprise, the amount of stock or other interest in the enterprise which the foundation would have to dispose of to a person other than a disqualified person in order for the remaining holdings of the foundation in such enterprise to be permitted holdings. (2) Permitted holdings in a corporation (A) In general The permitted holdings of any private foundation in an incorporated business enterprise are— (i) 20 percent of the voting stock, reduced by (ii) the percentage of the voting stock owned by all disqualified persons. In any case in which all disqualified persons together do not own more than 20 percent of the voting stock of an incorporated business enterprise, nonvoting stock held by the private foundation shall also be treated as permitted holdings. (B) 35 percent rule where third person has effective control of enterprise If— (i) the private foundation and all disqualified persons together do not own more than 35 percent of the voting stock of an incorporated business enterprise, and (ii) it is established to the satisfaction of the Secretary that effective control of the corporation is in one or more persons who are not disqualified persons with respect to the foundation, then subparagraph (A) shall be applied by substituting 35 percent for 20 percent. (C) 2 percent de minimis rule A private foundation shall not be treated as having excess business holdings in any corporation in which it (together with all other private foundations which are described in section 4946(a)(1)(H)) owns not more than 2 percent of the voting stock and not more than 2 percent in value of all outstanding shares of all classes of stock. (3) Permitted holdings in partnerships, etc. The permitted holdings of a private foundation in any business enterprise which is not incorporated shall be determined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary. Such regulations shall be consistent in principle with paragraphs (2) and (4), except that— (A) in the case of a partnership or joint venture, “profits interest” shall be substituted for “voting stock”, and “capital interest” shall be substituted for “nonvoting stock”, (B) in the case of a proprietorship, there shall be no permitted holdings, and (C) in any other case, “beneficial interest” shall be substituted for “voting stock”. (4) Present holdings (A) (i) In applying this section with respect to the holdings of any private foundation in a business enterprise, if such foundation and all disqualified persons together have holdings in such enterprise in excess of 20 percent of the voting stock on May 26, 1969, the percentage of such holdings shall be substituted for “20 percent,” and for “35 percent” (if the percentage of such holdings is greater than 35 percent), wherever it appears in paragraph (2), but in no event shall the percentage so substituted b...

    12 other bills also change this section · Follow it → Official text at uscode.house.gov ↗

Information and returns · 26 U.S.C. ch. 61 1 section
  • § 6033 Returns by exempt organizations Amends

    26 U.S.C. § 6033

    The law today

    (a) Organizations required to file (1) In general Except as provided in paragraph (3), every organization exempt from taxation under section 501(a) shall file an annual return, stating specifically the items of gross income, receipts, and disbursements, and such other information for the purpose of carrying out the internal revenue laws as the Secretary may by forms or regulations prescribe, and shall keep such records, render under oath such statements, make such other returns, and comply with such rules and regulations as the Secretary may from time to time prescribe; except that, in the discretion of the Secretary, any organization described in section 401(a) may be relieved from stating in its return any information which is reported in returns filed by the employer which established such organization. (2) Being a party to certain reportable transactions Every tax-exempt entity described in section 4965(c) shall file (in such form and manner and at such time as determined by the Secretary) a disclosure of— (A) such entity’s being a party to any prohibited tax shelter transaction (as defined in section 4965(e)), and (B) the identity of any other party to such transaction which is known by such tax-exempt entity. (3) Exceptions from filing (A) Mandatory exceptions Paragraph (1) shall not apply to— (i) churches, their integrated auxiliaries, and conventions or associations of churches, (ii) any organization (other than a private foundation, as defined in section 509(a)) described in subparagraph (C), the gross receipts of which in each taxable year are normally not more than $5,000, or (iii) the exclusively religious activities of any religious order. (B) Discretionary exceptions The Secretary may relieve any organization required under paragraph (1) (other than an organization described in section 509(a)(3)) to file an information return from filing such a return where he determines that such filing is not necessary to the efficient administration of the internal revenue laws. (C) Certain organizations The organizations referred to in subparagraph (A)(ii) are— (i) a religious organization described in section 501(c)(3); (ii) an educational organization described in section 170(b)(1)(A)(ii); (iii) a charitable organization, or an organization for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals, described in section 501(c)(3), if such organization is supported, in whole or in part, by funds contributed by the United States or any State or political subdivision thereof, or is primarily supported by contributions of the general public; (iv) an organization described in section 501(c)(3), if such organization is operated, supervised, or controlled by or in connection with a religious organization described in clause (i); (v) an organization described in section 501(c)(8); and (vi) an organization described in section 501(c)(1), if such organization is a corporation wholly owned by the United States or any agency or instrumentality thereof, or a wholly-owned subsidiary of such a corporation. (b) Certain organizations described in section 501(c)(3) Every organization described in section 501(c)(3) which is subject to the requirements of subsection (a) shall furnish annually information, at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may by forms or regulations prescribe, setting forth— (1) its gross income for the year, (2) its expenses attributable to such income and incurred within the year, (3) its disbursements within the year for the purposes for which it is exempt, (4) a balance sheet showing its assets, liabilities, and net worth as of the beginning of such year, (5) the total of the contributions and gifts received by it during the year, and the names and addresses of all substantial contributors, (6) the names and addresses of its foundation managers (within the meaning of section 4946(b)(1)) and highly compensated employees, (7) the compensation and other payments made during the year to each individual described in...

    65 other bills also change this section · Follow it → Official text at uscode.house.gov ↗

Also cites: 26 U.S.C. § 511

How this bill changes current law

9 changes Share ↗

AI-generated reading aid from the bill's amendatory text — verify against the official bill.

The bill modifies various provisions of the Internal Revenue Code related to charitable contributions and private foundations.

  • Section 170(i)

    "(i) Standard Mileage Rate for Use of Passenger Automobile.--For purposes of computing the deduction under this section for use of a passenger automobile, the standard mileage rate shall be the rate determined by the Secretary, which rate shall not be less than the standard mileage rate used for purposes of section 213."

    Establishes a minimum standard mileage rate for charitable contributions based on Secretary's determination.

  • Section 170(f)(8)(D)

    subparagraph (D)

    Removes an existing subparagraph from the substantiation requirements for charitable contributions.

  • Section 6033(n)

    "(n) Mandatory Electronic Filing.--Any organization required to file a return under this section shall file such return in electronic form."

    Requires organizations to file annual returns in electronic form.

  • Section 6104(b)

    "Any annual return required to be filed electronically under section 6033(n) shall be made available by the Secretary to the public in machine readable format."

    Mandates that electronically filed returns be publicly available in a machine-readable format.

  • Section 408(d)(8)(B)(i)

    "or any fund or account described in section 4966(d)(2)"

    Excludes certain funds from tax-free charitable distributions from IRAs.

  • Section 6033(k)

    "(4) list the total number of such funds which were in existence for the 36-month period ending at the close of such taxable year, (5) list the total number of funds described in paragraph (4) which made at least 1 grant during the period described in such paragraph, and (6) set forth-- (A) whether such organization has a publicly available policy with respect to funds which are inactive, dormant, or do not make distributions during the period described in paragraph (4), (B) a description of the organization's policy for responding to funds described in subparagraph (A) or a statement that no such policy is in effect, and (C) whether such organization regularly and consistently monitors and enforces compliance with the policy described in subparagraph (A) with respect to such funds."

    Adds new disclosure requirements for organizations regarding donor advised funds.

  • Section 4940(a)

    "2 percent" → "1 percent"

    Reduces the tax rate on investment income of private foundations from 2% to 1%.

  • Section 4940(e)

    subsection (e)

    Eliminates the reduced tax rate for foundations that meet certain distribution requirements.

  • Section 4943

    "(g) Exception for Certain Philanthropic Business Holdings.--(1) In general.--Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to the holdings of a private foundation in any business enterprise which for the taxable year meets-- (A) the exclusive ownership requirements of paragraph (2), (B) the all profits to charity requirement of paragraph (3), and (C) the independent operation requirements of paragraph (4). ..."

    Creates an exception for private foundations regarding excess business holdings if specific requirements are met.

Action History

  1. Introduced in House

  2. Introduced in House

  3. Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 546 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (546)

546 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 546 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

taxation civil-rights
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HR 2916 do?
Charities Helping Americans Regularly Throughout the Year Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify several tax provisions affecting charitable contributions and tax-exempt organizations. The Internal Revenue Service may determine the standard mileage rate for deducting the cost of using a passenger automobile for charitable purposes (currently set by statute at 14 cents per mile), and the rate may not be less than the rate for medical purposes (17 cents per mile for 2017). The bill modifies the substantiation requirements for charitable contributions to eliminate an exemption for contributions that are reported on a return filed by a tax-exempt organization. Tax-exempt organizations must file their returns in electronic form. The bill excludes from the gross income of an individual who is at least 70-1/2 years of age up to $100,000 in distributions from an individual retirement plan to a donor-advised fund (DAF). The bill also modifies disclosure requirements for DAFs. (A DAF is a fund or account that is separately identified by reference to contributions of a donor or donors. The account is owned and controlled by a sponsoring charitable organization, while the donor retains advisory privileges with respect to the distribution and investment of funds in the account.) The bill reduces from 2% to 1% the excise tax on the investment income of private foundations and eliminates a provision that reduces the rate to 1% if a foundation meets certain distribution requirements. The bill exempts certain philanthropic business holdings from the tax on excess business holdings of private foundations if a foundation meets requirements for exclusive ownership, donating all profits to charity, and independent operation.
Who sponsors HR 2916?
HR 2916 is sponsored by Kelly, Mike (Republican).
What is the current status of HR 2916?
This bill died with 115th Congress. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track HR 2916?
Track HR 2916 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on HR 2916

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of HR 2916

Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →