Report: Estimating Effects on Charitable Giving
https://philanthropy.indianapolis.iu.edu/news-events/news/_news/2026/less-charitable-giving-more-givers-likely-with-obbb-tax-changes-compared-to-previous-law-study-finds.html

The Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy study presented by CCS Fundraising found that overall H.R.1 is expected to lower total charitable giving by about $5.69 billion per year compared to previous law. That is roughly equivalent to about 1% of all U.S. giving.

Report: Tax Issues Relating to Charitable Contributions and Organizations
In January 2026, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) recently published a report on tax issues concerning charitable giving and nonprofit organizations that examines the current tax statutory structure governing the sector. The report also provides a menu of policy reform options, pulling from previous legislative proposals and reforms raised off the Hill. This is the first CRS release since 2020, and this report revisits many items that have been discussed in the past. The report provides a menu of policy reforms that lawmakers could pull from if they needed revenue or were looking to reform the tax treatment of philanthropy. The report can be found at: https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/PDF/R48789/R48789.2.pdf

H.R. 2891 IRA Charitable Rollover Facilitation and Enhancement Act of 2025
S. 3975 IRA Charitable Rollover Facilitation and Enhancement Act of 2026
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2891
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/3975

Introduced in the House on April 10, 2025, by Reps. Smith (R-NE) and Panetta (D-CA). This bill would allow qualified charitable distributions from individual retirement accounts to a donor-advised fund. The Pension Protection Act (PPA) created the IRA Charitable Rollover, which allows a taxpayer over the age of 70½ to make a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) to a 501(c)(3) qualifying charity without counting the distribution as income, and without giving the donor a charitable deduction for their gift. This is an increasingly popular way for older donors with modest annual income but substantial retirement savings to support the charitable organizations they care about, because they can take a portion of their Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) and give it directly to charity. Current law does not allow QCD gifts to a donor advised fund, and some plan administrators make it difficult to support multiple charities the way a donor might do through a donor advised fund. A companion Senate Bill (S. 397) was introduced on March 3, 2026 with Senators Young (R-IN) and Bennet (D-CO) leading. Additional co-sponsors include Sens. Lankford (R-OK), Cortez Masto (D-NV), Cantwell (D-WA), and Blackburn (R-TN).

Reintroduction of H.R. 9495 in the new Congress
H.R. 6800 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to terminate the tax-exempt status of terrorist supporting organizations, https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/6800
S. 3554 – A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to terminate the tax-exempt status of terrorist supporting organizations https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/3554

The legislation was re-introduced by Representative Kustoff (R-TN) in the House and by Senator Cornyn R-TX. There was a lot of commentary in the nonprofit sector about H.R. 9495 when it was first introduced. A primary concern was that the legislation would allow the Secretary of the Treasury to designate section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations as “terrorist supporting organizations” at the Secretary’s discretion, without requiring the Secretary to share their full evidence or reasoning with accused nonprofits. Like previous legislation, S.3554/H.R.6800 allows the Secretary to determine whether disclosure of certain evidence to the designated organization would be inconsistent with national security or law enforcement interests. Unlike previous legislation, the 119th Congress legislation includes a process for an organization to contest this determination with a U.S. district court. There still has been no formal action since introduction in December, 2025.

American Alliance for Equal Rights vs. Hispanic Scholarship Fund – US District Court for the District of Columbia
The Council on Foundations and Independent Sector filed an amicus brief in the case of American Alliance for Equal Rights (plaintiff) vs. Hispanic Scholarship Fund (defendant). Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) is the largest nonprofit organization supporting Hispanic American higher education. The plaintiff asks the Cout to hold that anti-discrimination laws prohibit HSF from making scholarships to Hispanic American students. A copy of the brief can be found at https://cof.org/news/council-foundations-and-independent-sector-file-amicus-brief-defending-charitable-gifts.

Peterson v. Christian Community Foundation (dba/WaterStone)
In January 2026, a case was filed in the US District Court for the District of Colorado by a successor advisor to a $21 million donor advised fund who alleges the sponsor cut off access to the DAF and refused to process grant recommendations. The case seeks relief to enforce the successor advisor’s role and ability to recommend grants from the fund. In recent years we have seen prominent cases brought by donors against donor-advised fund sponsors (most prominently Fairbairn v. Fidelity Charitable and Pinkert v. Schwab Charitable Fund), but analysts are already commenting that there is no case law regarding advisory rights.

FY 2027 Presidential Budget Request
https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/information-resources/budget/

The presidential budget request includes the Administration’s priorities for the next fiscal year. The FY2027 request proposes a 10% cut to non-defense spending, including cuts to the IRS, FEMA non-disaster grants, and global health and humanitarian assistance. Throughout the budget request, the Administration laid out efforts to limit federal government partnerships with nonprofits that are not aligned with the priorities of the Administration.

Note: The Department of Treasury will not release their “Greenbook”—the Treasury Department’s list of budget proposals which typically accompanies the President’s annual Budget Request—in an effort to focus on implementing tax provisions passed in 2025.

IRS invites Public Recommendations
https://www.regulations.gov/docket/IRS-2026-0364

On March 23, the IRS announced it will begin to accept comments on the 2026-2027 Priority Guidance Plan. The Priority Guidance Plan will identify the agency’s priority regulatory projects through June 30, 2027.

Note: Comments and recommendations for the 2026-2027 plan will be accepted through May 29, 2026.

NOTE: This material was aggregated by Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan from multiple sources. It is published with the understanding that neither the publisher nor the author is engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a professional advisor should be sought.