In prior blogs, I explained how a donor advised fund works in detail. Basically, you make a contribution to the fund now and take a deduction in the year you make the contribution. In future years, you, as the adviser, can direct distributions to the public charity of your choice. A donor advised fund may be useful to aggregate charitable gifts into one year to enable itemizing deductions while taking the standard deduction in other years. A gray area has been the satisfaction of pledges made … [Read more...] about Donor Advised Funds: IRS Issues New Ruling
Donor Advised Funds
Would You Prefer A Charitable Deduction This Year?
Would you like a charitable deduction this year? There can be many reasons why you’d prefer a deduction this year but not actually want to make the distribution until the future: Your income is higher this year You won’t be able to itemize next year due to decreased deductions You are retiring You know you are giving, but don’t decide to whom until each year You want to retain some control over timing and amount of distribution A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush A … [Read more...] about Would You Prefer A Charitable Deduction This Year?
No Charitable Deduction in 2018?
The Problem: The tax bills passed by the House and Senate would both nearly double the income tax standard deduction for individuals (to $12,000) and couples (to $24,000) and would eliminate deductions for state income taxes. The impact of this: Most people will not be able to itemize their deductions. It’s expected the percentage of those deducting charitable donations would fall precipitously from 26 percent to 8 percent. Here’s a link to an analysis in New York magazine. Here’s another link … [Read more...] about No Charitable Deduction in 2018?
