Means of Giving

While many individuals and families use cash for pledging and one-time gifts, there are other tax-advantaged means of giving that may behoove donors. Speak with your tax advisor to explore if the strategies below allow you to save on taxes, support the parish more generously than you would otherwise be able, or both.

1. Gifting long-term appreciated assets: When gifting appreciated long-term assets (i.e., those held for more than one-year), donors do not have to pay capital gains tax on the appreciation and receive a tax deduction of the fair market value of donated assets. While donors are limited to deducting 30% of adjusted gross income in any one year when gifting appreciated assets, they can carry over any excess deduction to the forward five tax years.

2. 'Bunching' gifts: By combining two or more years of planned giving, many donors are able to push itemizations above the standard deduction. This strategy provides the immediate tax benefit to donors and allows the parish to receive the gift 'ahead of schedule.'

3. Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs): Many individuals 70 and 1/2 and older are able to donate up to $105,000 per annum directly from IRAs to qualified charities. By distributing directly from an IRA, donors avoid realizing the distribution as income rather than making a deductible gift.

QCDs reduce required minimum distributions (RMDs) dollar-for-dollar for individuals who have passed their required beginning date; for individuals who are not yet required to to take a minimum distribution, QCDs will likely reduce their future RMDs because they lessen the current value of the IRA.