If you have appreciated stock, mutual fund, or another asset you can gift it to the church and avoid capital gains taxes and get credit for a charitable gift. This could save you 10% or 15% in taxes, depending on your tax bracket. The tax savings make this a great way for some people to make a gift.
If you are 70.5 years old or older and have a traditional IRA, you are eligible to make a contribution directly from that account to a charity and have it count as a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). This will result in no income tax due to you as you won’t be taking it as a distribution to you. So, you avoid income taxes, get to make a gift to charity, and have it count as your Required Minimum Distribution (this is a thing once you are 72). If you are 70.5 years old and have a traditional IRA this is almost always the best way to give. If you have a 401k or 403b, you can roll that over to an IRA and then use this gifting method.
Making a regular gift every month from your checking account can allow many people to make a bigger gift than they ever thought possible. A gift of $30 per month ($1 per day) comes to a total gift of $1,080 over a three-year period of time. A gift of $100 per month is $3,600.
Everyone’s situation is different. This campaign will be successful if everyone prayerfully determines the best way for them to make their best gift to the appeal. There is no one size fits all. Please pray about and discern how God is calling you to be involved.
