Tips for Giving
A factor for determining the tax benefits of a charitable gift is whether or not you itemize your tax return. These are conversations you should have with your tax and financial planner to determine the best tax savings strategy, while optimizing your gift. PCF recommends you keep the following in mind when having these conversations.
Consider making gifts of appreciated stock instead of cash.
One of the most effective tax-smart strategies for achieving maximum charitable impact is donating appreciated stock held more than one year. This strategy can generally eliminate capital gains tax you would otherwise incur if you sold the assets first and then donated the proceeds.
Consider bunching two years of contributions into one.
If you itemize your deductions, you could find that your total charitable contributions is slightly below the level of the standard deduction. In this case, it could be beneficial to combine or “bunch” multiple years’ worth of charitable contributions into one year. In addition to achieving a large charitable impact, this strategy could produce a larger deduction in a single year than two separate years of itemized deductions.
Consider making a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) from your IRA.
Whether itemizing deductions or taking the standard deduction, if you are age 70½ and older, you can direct up to $100,000 per year tax-free from your IRAs to PCF through a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). By reducing the IRA balance, a QCD may also reduce your taxable income in future years and lower your taxable estate. Learn more>>
Consider opening a Donor Advised Fund at PCF.
A Donor Advised Fund at PCF makes charitable giving tax-smart, simple and efficient. Once you make the establishing gift to open the fund, you have the flexibility to make grants in your name over time as well as contribute to it again when it makes sense in a given tax year. Plus, you have the expertise of PCF staff on hand to help connect you to high-impact giving opportunities.
Gifts to a donor advised fund (DAF) do not qualify for the Charitable IRA Rollover. In this case our donors are electing to make contributions to PCF’s Community Needs Fund or into a personalized, Designated Fund. With the designated fund, the donor stipulates the nonprofits they’d like to support and PCF makes grants to them annually. The grants are made in the donor’s name and they are relieved from having to collect gift receipts from the different charities.
For gifts to a Donor Advised Fund appreciated stock remains an optimal choice.
It’s our pleasure to help you with tax-savings and high impact giving. Please let us know if we can assist you! Email our Philanthropic Services Manager Jessica Hubbard at jhubbard@placercf.org or call 530-885-4920.
Make an Impact
Make a tax-deductible donation to an existing fund at Placer Community Foundation. You can be assured that your gift will make a difference in your community today.