Tips for Giving in Light of Tax Reforms
We are confident our supporters give to Assurance because they are dedicated to our life-saving mission and care for those we serve. We have been asked many times since the passage of the most recent tax reform if we think it will negatively impact giving and we are walking in faith that those the Lord calls to support Assurance will continue to do so. But we also know that it is important to be wise with the resources God has entrusted to you. To that end, we highlight two ways to give that have always been wise options but could now be even more attractive.
Give Non-Cash Appreciated Assets
If you are like most people, most of your wealth is held in appreciated assets such as stocks, mutual funds, business interests, or real estate. The National Christian Foundation points out that “Giving appreciated assets held for more than one year, such as publicly traded stocks, allows you to receive a charitable tax deduction for the full value of the asset and eliminate capital gains taxes.”
Choose a Charitable IRA Rollover
If you are 70 ½ or older you may instruct your IRA trustee to transfer any amount, up to $100,000, directly to Assurance for Life. Qualified Charitable Distributions are not included as taxable income but could fulfill a required minimum distribution. So, if a giver is no longer receiving charitable deduction benefits, he or she can nonetheless capture some tax benefits by avoiding otherwise taxable income. If you are 70 ½ or older and no longer itemize, National Christian Foundation indicates “your IRA and other qualified retirement assets (after converting to an IRA) may now be the number one place you should look to as the source of all your charitable giving.”
Gifts of Non-Cash Appreciated Assets and Charitable IRA Rollovers have always been great ways to support Assurance, but perhaps with the new tax reforms these giving strategies are wiser than ever before. Please consult with your tax advisor about making these types of contributions to Assurance.