Charitable Giving Rules
The Charitable Giving Answer Book (2011) is a comprehensive guide to the rules applicable to charitable giving. It provides meticulously researched answers to the most common questions about charitable giving in the context of estate planning. The author is a CPA and attorney who practices in the field of tax planning and tax exempt organizations. The Charitable Giving Answer Book (2011) features detailed information on charitable contributions, charitable deductions, estate taxes, gift taxes, charitable contributions of life insurance and IRAs, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, charitable gift annuities, qualified conservation contributions, contributions of remainder interests in farms, and other types of planned giving techniques such as donor advised funds and private foundations. The Charitable Giving Answer Book (2011) also provides guidance on selection of trustees and record keeping requirements. Citations to federal statutes, regulations, rulings, and cases are included, along with discussions of pertinent tax forms. The Charitable Giving Answer Book (2011) is one of the most comprehensive and well written guides available on charitable giving law.
Charitable Giving and Estate Taxes
Under current federal tax laws, you can deduct from your gross estate the entire amount of gifts made to qualifying charitable organizations. If you are concerned about estate taxes, gifts to qualified organizations may allow you to achieve your charitable goals while reducing or eliminating estate taxes. One estate planning method often used to reduce estate taxes while donating to charity is a charitable remainder trust.
Conservation of Land and Charitable Donations
If you are the owner of a farm, ranch, forest land, historic property or another type of real property you would like preserved for future generations, you may want to consider using a conservation easement as part of your charitable giving. Donating a conservation easement to a land trust or similar type of conservation organization may qualify you for substantial tax savings. Visit our page on Conservation Easements for more information.
Using a Charitable Gift Account
For a variety of reasons, you may want to consider using a charitable giving account to make your charitable donations, whether you do this on an annual basis or as part of your estate planning. You can make contributions through a charitable giving account that may be eligible for immediate tax deductions and then either let the money grow as an investment and donate to your favorite charities at a later date, or give to your favorite charities after you make the donation to your charitable giving account. The account can be set up to meet your unique giving style, whether that be through monthly donations, annual donations, or unscheduled donations that are more or less frequent.
One of the key advantages to this type of charitable giving is if you own stock that has appreciated in value, you may be able to donate that stock to your favorite charity without incurring capital gains taxes.
One of the largest charitable gift funds is the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund. Charles Schwab also has the Schwab Charitable Fund. Bank of America Merrill Lynch operate the Bank of America Charitable Gift Fund. There are many charitable funds from which to choose. Check with your financial advisor for more information on which charitable giving account may be best suited to your situation.
You can open a charitable giving account online and find all the information on how to make an immediate contribution. After your charitable giving account is open, there are a variety of easy ways to make contributions. You can contribute cash via check, wire or electronic transfer, publicly traded stock, mutual fund shares, publicly traded bonds, and certain other types of assets.
After your account is funded, you recommend how the assets should be invested or you can have your financial advisor make recommendations regarding how to invest the funds. When you are ready, you make recommendations for grants to your favorite public charities.
Using a charitable giving account is an organized way to keep track of your charitable giving. You can track all your contributions online from one account and receive a single tax form to use with your tax filings. By using a charitable gift fund, you will have a variety of investment options so your donated assets can continue to grow tax deferred until they are granted to your favorite charities.
You can also name a charitable gift fund in your estate plan. For more information on how to do this through the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, visit their website. Consult your financial advisor or estate planner for more information on how to incorporate a charitable gift fund into your estate plan. To learn more about charitable giving as part of your estate plan, visit our page on Legacy Planning.
is a comprehensive guide to the rules applicable to charitable giving. It provides meticulously researched answers to the most common questions about charitable giving in the context of estate planning. The author is a CPA and attorney who practices in the field of tax planning and tax exempt organizations. The