By Erika Hoppe, CPA, JD  ehoppe@bvcocpas.com

Each year, the Statistics of Income Division of the IRS compiles data and produces a wide range of statistics measuring various components of the U.S. tax system. With the federal estate tax exemption increasing from $5,490,000 ($10,980,000 for married couples) in 2017 to $11,200,000 ($22,400,000 for married couples) in 2018 under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, fewer estate tax returns are expected to be filed in the future. While it is true that fewer taxpayers will be subject to the estate tax, there are many other reasons why estate planning remains important. One example is charitable giving.

The most recent statistics published by the IRS regarding charitable giving are from 2016. For tax purposes, there were 12,411 estates worth $192,218,976,000 gross across the country with 2,718 charitable bequests totaling $19,296,922,000 gross. California had the highest number of estates, specifically, 2,419 estates worth $38,300,167,000 gross with 454 charitable bequests totaling $4,599,647,000 gross. Florida came in second with 1,451 estates worth $32,881,907,000 gross with 334 charitable bequests totaling $1,662,045,000 gross. The state with the fewest number of estates was Alaska, which had 18 estates worth $236,663,000 gross. Since there were so few estates, the IRS did not release information on charitable bequests to protect individual taxpayer data. Vermont had the highest ratio of charitable bequests to gross estates with 17 charitable bequests totaling $92,387,000 gross and 41 gross estates worth $378,858,000.

To see these statistics as well as prior year statistics on charitable bequests by state of residence, click here. To find additional statistics relating to other areas of the tax system, visit the IRS website.