Tax Savings Through Donating
Do More With What You Have... And Give!
You can create a legacy by planning a deferred gift to ESFs Endowment Fund as part of your estate plan. There are many ways to give – all of which can offer significant tax advantages. In many cases, your heirs are provided for just as you had previously planned.
One very real problem with taxes is the loss of the use of wealth... FOREVER. What could you have achieved with the money for your heirs and your community versus paying it to the government? Your government wants and encourages you to support your favorite charities by special provisions in the tax code. Planning properly can help you do more with your assets by making a portion available for charitable contributions.
Another way planning ahead helps you do more? Each dollar has more impact when you make a planned gift to ESF since planned gifts are made to ESFs Endowment Fund, which earns interest. The interest from the endowment enables ESF to pledge on-going support to school programs important to the quality of our community. ESFs Endowment Fund is invested in a conservative diversified portfolio.
ESF not only accepts planned gifts to the Endowment Fund, but also current gifts. You will have the satisfaction of seeing your gift grow and have an impact beyond current needs. Contact your tax advisor or estate planner for details on how to set up a planned giving gift.
Other Ways To Give...
All of the options below provide you with tax savings - some in immediate deductions or capital gains tax reductions, others in the form of estate tax reductions. Be sure to contact your own estate planner and/ or tax advisor.
Simple Bequest
As simple as it sounds, name ESF in your will. You may want to consider naming a percentage instead of a dollar amount. That way, your heirs and other priorities are taken care of.
Life Insurance
You can donate a paid-up life insurance policy, or name the Eureka Schools Education Foundation as a partial beneficiary.
Retirement Plans
You can name ESF as beneficiary of your IRA or other qualified plan.
Charitable Gift Annuity
You benefit from guaranteed income for life from your gift of cash or securities, while the Foundation benefits as well. Consult your tax advisor for details about tax benefits for your individual situation.
Charitable Remainder Trust - A Gift That's Win-Win
A charitable remainder trust (CRT) turns appreciated net worth into cash flow for yourself or someone you designate. When assets in a CRT are liquidated it is a non-taxable event. The liquid assets are then invested by you or whomever you designate in a portfolio, with a portion you designate going to charities when the estate is transferred to your heirs.
Not only does the avoidance of the capital gains tax allow a donor 100% of the use of their wealth compared to 80% or 75% after capital gains taxes, a donor is also entitled to a charitable income tax reduction. At a minimum, this deduction will amount to 10% of the fair market value of the asset.
Added together with the 100% use of the income from the property, the result is a minimum benefit to the donor of at least 110% of his or her assets. In a sense, Uncle Sam is paying donors with tax savings to do a CRT.
The trust pays you or your designee income for either a period of time or life, with a portion of the remainder of assets going to the Foundation. You may achieve very significant federal and state capital gains tax reductions and estate tax reductions from a CRT.
In many cases, a deferred or planned gift can create tax reductions extensive enough that your heirs are not adversely impacted at all.