Alabama ranked No. 10 in average charitable giving

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Alabama residents who took itemized deductions for charitable deductions on their federal income tax forms in 2016 donated $7,543 on average, according to an analysis released this month by the Washington-based Tax Foundation.  

That amount was the 10th highest in the foundation’s ranking of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Nationwide, 37 million taxpayers took such deductions. 

Charitable deductions taken in 2016 in Alabama numbered 470,090, amounting to a total of $3.5 billion, according to the analysis.

The federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was signed into law in 2017, increased the standard deduction, meaning fewer households in the future will benefit from itemizing donations to charities.

“As millions fewer households will itemize going forward, we should expect forthcoming IRS data to show fewer charitable contribution deductions,” Erica York, a Tax Foundation analyst, said in a post on the foundation’s website.

The effects on overall charitable giving, however, are uncertain, York said, because many households give to charities for reasons that are not tax-related.

Americans who took itemized deductions for charitable contributions in 2016 gave $236 billion in total, which works out to an average of $6,349 among those who took such deductions, according to the analysis.

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How States Rank on Charitable Giving

RankState Number of Charitable Deductions Amount of Charitable Deductions (in millions) Average Charitable Deduction
1Wyoming41,690$542$12,991
2Arkansas224,470$2,455$10,935
3Utah401,590$4,082$10,165
4South Dakota58,100$582$10,020
5Tennessee504,460$4,361$8,644
6Washington855,110$7,166$8,381
7Georgia1,261,830$10,151$8,045
8D.C.113,460$912$8,039
9Oklahoma305,930$2,440$7,975
10Alabama470,090$3,546$7,543
11North Dakota49,420$365$7,382
12Texas2,275,810$16,691$7,334
13Mississippi250,380$1,786$7,135
14California5,154,350$36,634$7,107
15Florida1,854,220$13,087$7,058
16New York2,784,390$19,583$7,033
17Idaho173,440$1,211$6,983
18Kansas281,250$1,952$6,942
19Louisiana374,240$2,487$6,646
20Missouri595,180$3,850$6,469
21South Carolina523,990$3,377$6,444
22Indiana570,380$3,487$6,113
23North Carolina1,127,090$6,881$6,105
24Nevada292,780$1,771$6,049
25Colorado713,080$4,269$5,986
26Nebraska209,070$1,243$5,946
27Massachusetts1,048,220$6,093$5,813
28Illinois1,595,330$9,240$5,792
29Alaska57,090$327$5,730
30Montana112,060$629$5,609
31Virginia1,212,690$6,717$5,539
32Connecticut607,150$3,319$5,467
33Kentucky407,570$2,198$5,392
34Michigan1,064,400$5,712$5,367
35Maryland1,143,160$5,999$5,248
36West Virginia95,190$499$5,244
37New Mexico159,060$814$5,121
38Arizona729,580$3,701$5,073
39Pennsylvania1,454,530$7,333$5,042
40Ohio1,146,570$5,778$5,039
41Oregon556,740$2,747$4,935
42Minnesota811,520$3,947$4,864
43Iowa351,620$1,694$4,818
44New Hampshire170,560$807$4,731
45Vermont65,610$302$4,609
46Delaware122,180$558$4,565
47Wisconsin715,510$3,142$4,391
48New Jersey1,547,390$6,694$4,326
49Hawaii163,170$671$4,112
50Maine135,170$492$3,643
51Rhode Island145,120$487$3,354
Source: Tax Foundation and Internal Revenue Service statistics

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