Donation of Appreciated Stock to BPC

In the last few years many portfolios have grown in value.  Maybe your stocks have appreciated greatly since you purchased them. Maybe a surge in value of one of your holdings has thrown your portfolio off balance.  There are many tax benefits to consider a donation of your appreciated holdings to BPC. These benefits should encourage you to review your investment portfolio with a donation strategy in mind.

Charitable gifts of appreciated stock or funds are among the most tax-smart ways to give. Yet, it is often not well understood or widely used. Here are four ways it could benefit you:

1. You can give more.  By donating appreciated stock or funds you have held more than a year, you are actually giving about 20 percent more* than if you sold the stock and then wrote a check to BPC.  This is because you avoid recognizing and paying tax on a capital gain at the Federal and State level.  

*The federal capital gains tax is 15-20 percent on long term (12 months or more) holdings and can exceed 24 percent for some higher income tax payers.  With CA state tax rates of about 10 percent your gift can easily be a third larger with this strategy.**

2. You are also allowed to deduct the FULL FAIR MARKET VALUE of your gift from your INCOME TAXES!  

3. You are also allowed to donate non-publicly traded assets such as real estate, restricted stock or crypto assets such as bitcoin.

4. It is SIMPLE.  Our Finance Director is capable of handling all the paperwork and working with your tax or investment advisor/platform. To be eligible for a charitable deduction for a given tax year, donations of stocks need to be received by the end of the year. Because different assets take different amounts of time to be transferred, you should initiate your transaction as early as possible.  Please contact our church office at 310-826-5656.

**For proper analysis of your personal situation, please consult your tax advisor or CPA.