Many of our clients enjoy donating their time, talents and money to charitable organizations, and we love to support our clients’ charitable efforts. If you are contributing financially to charities, here are a couple of good ways to do so that we would be happy to assist you with:
- Donate highly appreciated investment holdings instead of cash. We can identify investment holdings and lots that have the most appreciation, and match the number of shares to the amount you’d like to donate. The charity will get the full market value of the donation, you’ll get to itemize the full market value of the donation, and you can avoid paying capital gains taxes on the holdings you donate. We can even help you donate these holdings to a Donor Advised Fund (DAF), and you can chose your charities at a later date.
- Use Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) from your IRA. Once you reach age 70 ½, you can donate cash directly from your IRA (or inherited IRA) to your qualifying charity and avoid paying income tax on the distribution. If you are subject to RMDs, these donations can also satisfy part of your RMD, if we time the donation correctly. Two caveats: contact us so that the cash donation is sent “directly” and qualifies, and you will need to inform your tax preparer about your QCD so they can adjust your taxable amount of your IRA distribution.
And for the 2026 tax year, even for those who don’t itemize, individuals who donate cash to charities can deduct $1000 (married couples can deduct $2000).
Disclaimer: This is for informational purposes only, and not tax advice. Please consult your tax preparer.