Originally enacted in 1997, the Montana Income Tax Credit for Endowed Philanthropy encourages charitable giving to qualified endowments by offering incentives to Montana taxpayers. The Montana Department of Revenue (DOR) reports that the tax credit has been claimed on over $170 million in gifts to Montana charitable endowments from 1997 to 2021. Assuming a standard endowment distribution rate of 5%, these gifts create at least $600,000 in distributions to Montana nonprofits every year.
Although it is not possible to discern the motivations of the donor to determine whether the tax credit caused these gifts, the amount of gifts given to charitable endowments would almost certainly be lower in the absence of the credit.
For technical questions regarding the Endowment Tax Credit, please contact Montana Community Foundation.
Amount of Endowment Credit Claimed and the Gift Amount used to Claim the Credit
| Individual | Corporate | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Credit Claimed | Credit Percentage | Gift Amt used to Claim Credit | Credit Claimed | Credit Percentage | Gift Amt used to Claim Credit | |
| 1997 | $1,332,693 | 50% | $2,665,386 | $173,972 | 50% | $347,944 | |
| 1998 | $3,191,145 | 50% | $6,576,468 | $380,512 | 50% | $761,024 | |
| 1999 | $5,547,290 | 50% | $11,320,098 | $652,025 | 50% | $1,304,050 | |
| 2000 | $6,960,128 | 50% | $14,243,846 | $751,549 | 50% | $1,503,098 | |
| 2001 | $7,410,957 | 50% | $15,100,822 | $712,539 | 50% | $1,425,078 | |
| 2002 | $1,610,509 | 40% | $4,236,953 | $108,087 | 20% | $540,435 | |
| 2003 | $2,138,607 | 40% | $5,449,240 | $112,435 | 20% | $562,175 | |
| 2004 | $2,502,605 | 40% | $6,462,603 | $131,866 | 20% | $659,330 | |
| 2005 | $2,491,431 | 40% | $6,228,578 | $159,309 | 20% | $796,545 | |
| 2006 | $3,164,764 | 40% | $8,112,566 | $197,833 | 20% | $989,165 | |
| 2007 | $3,037,790 | 40% | $7,147,088 | $134,927 | 20% | $674,635 | |
| 2008 | $1,990,411 | 40% | $4,976,028 | $35,256 | 20% | $176,280 | |
| 2009 | $1,808,443 | 40% | $4,521,108 | $94,899 | 20% | $474,445 | |
| 2010 | $1,827,181 | 40% | $4,567,953 | $42,830 | 20% | $214,150 | |
| 2011 | $1,784,717 | 40% | $4,461,793 | $45,911 | 20% | $229,555 | |
| 2012 | $2,072,754 | 40% | $5,181,885 | $60,406 | 20% | $302,030 | |
| 2013 | $2,124,379 | 40% | $5,310,948 | $58,795 | |||
| 2014 | $2,511,011 | 40% | $6,277,528 | $47,124 | |||
| 2015 | $2,494,926 | 40% | $6,237,315 | $37,766 | |||
| 2016 | $2,742,871 | 40% | $6,857,178 | ||||
| 2017 | $3,225,790 | 40% | $8,064,475 | ||||
| 2018 | $2,582,524 | 40% | $6,456,310 | ||||
| 2019 | $3,091,429 | 40% | $7,728,573 | ||||
| 2020 | $2,740,578 | 40% | $2,740,578 | ||||
| 2021 | $3,638,804 | 40% | $9,097,010 | ||||
| Total | $74,023,737 | $170,022,330 | $3,938,031 |