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PERCENTAGE LIMITATIONSany excess charitable contribution for the contribution year that is unused at thebeginning of the first of these five tax years for which separate returns are filedmust be allocated between the husband and the wife. For purposes of this allocation,a computation must be made of the amount of any excess charitable contributionthat each spouse would have computed if separate returns had been filedfor the contribution year.The portion of the total unused excess charitable contribution for the contributionyear allocated to each spouse must be an amount that bears the same ratioto the unused excess charitable contribution as the spouse’s excess contribution,based on the separate return computation, bears to the total excess contributionsof both spouses, based on the separate return computation. To the extent that aportion of the amount allocated to either spouse is not treated as a charitable contributionto a public charitable organization in the tax year in which separatereturns are filed, each spouse must treat his or her respective unused portion asthe available charitable contribution carryover to the next succeeding tax year inwhich the joint excess charitable contribution may be treated as paid. If a husbandand wife file a joint return for one of the five tax years immediately succeedingthe contribution year with respect to which a joint excess charitablecontribution is computed, and following the first tax year for which the husbandand wife filed separate returns, the amounts allocated to each spouse for this firsttax year must be aggregated for purposes of determining the amount of theavailable charitable contribution carryover to the succeeding tax year. Theamounts allocated must be reduced by the portion of the amounts treated as paidto a public charitable organization in this first tax year and in any tax year interveningbetween this first tax year and the succeeding tax year in which the jointreturn is filed. 122These rules may be illustrated by the following example:EXAMPLE 7.26H and W filed joint returns for 2005, 2006, and 2007. In 2008 they filed separate returns. Ineach of these years, H and W itemized their deductions in computing taxable income. Thefollowing facts apply with respect to H and W for 2005:HWJointreturnContribution base $50,000 $40,000 $90,000Contributions of cash to publiccharitable organizations(no other contributions) 37,000 28,000 65,000Allowable charitablecontribution deductions 25,000 20,000 45,000Excess contributions to betreated as paid in fivesucceeding tax years 12,000 8,000 20,000122Reg. § 1.170A-10(d)(4)(i). 216