Social Security Benefits Don’t Count For Permitting Gifts in Bankruptcy
15% limit for charitable contributions is based on gross annual income without social security
When Congress passed the Religious Liberty and Charitable Donation Protection Act of 1997, it provided that debtors could make charitable contributions up to 15% of their gross annual income. But it didn’t say how to calculate the gross annual income. A bankruptcy court in Colorado, saying the question had not been decided by any other court, has held that gross annual income does not include social security payments received by the debtor. (In Re. McGough, D. CO, Bkrptcy. No. 09-37932, 7/7/11.)
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