You Can Save Taxes by Donating Stocks Instead of Cash
If you are thinking about making a contribution to the Capital Campaign, you might want to consider making a gift of your appreciated stock or mutual fund shares rather than a cash donation because a gift of appreciated property often provides increased tax benefits.
Charitable contributions of appreciated securities provide two potential income-tax advantages. The first is a charitable deduction — generally for the fair market value of the securities at the time of the contribution, subject to certain tax law limits. The second benefit is that you are not taxed on the capital gain that would result if you sold the property.
If you have investments that have increased in value you
may be eligible for two tax benefits by donating:
* You do not pay tax on the gain
However, if you donate the stock to charity, you may claim a $20,000 charitable contribution deduction and avoid paying capital gains tax on the $5,000 of appreciation in the stock. To gain these benefits, the stock must be long-term capital gain property (stock you’ve owned for more than one year or stock you inherited).
How to donate stocks or mutual funds to the Capital Campaign:
1) To begin the process notify St Mark and the Diocese what you will be transferring stock (ex – 100 shares of IBM stock):
DIOCESE OF ST. PETE: David Ridenour (727) 341-6858
ST. MARK: Valerie at (813) 907-7746 Ext. 333 or vmainguy@stmarktampa.org
2) The next step is to ask your stock brokers or mutual fund company to transfer the shares to the Diocese for you. David Ridenour can provide you with a list of brokerage accounts your broker can use to complete the transfer.
Questions? Please contact your stock broker or tax advisor for tax questions. Call David Ridenour at the Diocese or Valerie at the parish office at the numbers listed above for other questions.