Here are Two Tax Saving Ideas that May Help You and Help Faith Church:
If you are over the age of 70 ½ and have a large individual retirement account (IRA), think about a qualified charitable distribution.
Starting at age 73, the government required you to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) from your tax-deferred retirement account. Whether or not you need the money, you must take your MD every year, and they get bigger as you get older, possibly pushing you into a higher income tax bracket and higher Medicare premiums.
If you don’t need the money, have your IRA custodian send a check directly to Faith Presbyterian Church instead. You can donate up to $105,000.00 a year through a qualified charitable distribution and it will count toward your RMD and reduce your taxable income by the amount of your gift.
Your qualified charitable distribution must go directly from your IRA to the church. It cannot go through an intermediary such as a bank. And you can’t do a qualified charitable distribution from a 401k. Your IRA custodian will report the transaction to the IRS and send you a 1099-R showing it as a distribution. Make sure you report it on your income tax return as a qualified charitable distribution or you will be taxed on the entire amount.
If you would like to give all or part of your IRA required minimum distribution to the church, please contact Church Accountant, Pat Moser at (239) 542-2858 or email her at finance@fpcfl.org. She will provide the transfer instructions to give to your IRA custodian. She will also make sure your gift appears on your Faith giving statement. Thank you for considering this kind of giving to Faith Presbyterian Church. It is easy and it will save you tax dollars.
Do you have appreciated stock you don’t want to sell because you will have to pay capital gains tax? Consider donating this to Faith Church.
Giving appreciated stock is always more efficient than giving cash. Suppose you want to give a cash gift of $10,000.00 to Faith, you can itemize on your tax return and you’re in the 25% tax bracket. That donation will reduce your tax bill by $2,500.00.
Now suppose you give shares of stock that have appreciated and are currently worth $10,000.00. If you sell the stock, you will have to pay capital gains tax on the appreciation and receive less than $10,000.00. But if you donate the stock shares to Faith, you may still get the same $2,500.00 reduction to your tax bill. Donating appreciated stock is always better than writing a check.
If you would like to give appreciated stock to Faith, please contact Church Accountant, Pat Moser at (239) 542-2858 or email her at finance@fpcfl.org.
She will provide transfer instructions to give to your broker or financial advisor. She will also make sure your gift appears on your Faith giving statement, valued as of the date it is received. Thank you for your considering this kind of giving to Faith Presbyterian Church. It is easy and will save you tax dollars.
