Year-end tax-saving strategies from JCCF

     The changes made in the 2017 Tax Reform Act are now becoming real as families plan their year-end giving. The increase in the standard deduction to $24,000 for a married couple and $12,000 per individual means that many donors will not meet the new standard deduction threshold. Maximize your deductions and your impact on the causes you care about with these tips from the Jones County Community Foundation (JCCF):

     • Bundle Charitable Contributions. One strategy to reach the standard deduction threshold is to combine two or three years of charitable contributions (sometimes called “bunching”) into a single tax year and take the standard deduction in off years.

     During the tax year of your charitable giving, you can spread your contributions across the year by making gifts in January and December.

     • Use a Donor-Advised Fund. Although you will not make charitable contributions annually when bundling your gifts into a single tax year, you can still support your favorite charities in “off years” using a donor-advised fund established through the Jones County Community Foundation.

     The assets in your donor-advised fund will be available to you so you can make grant distributions to non-profits of your choosing, even in the years when you don’t contribute to the fund. Funds that are not distributed as grants will continue to be invested by the JCCF so your charitable dollars can grow tax-free.

     If you give to an endowed donor-advised fund, your gift may also be eligible for the Endow Iowa 25% State tax Credit. Credits for 2019 are being depleted, so act quickly to take advantage of this benefit.

     • Give Appreciated Securities. Gifts of appreciated assets put your gains to good use in the community and qualify for an immediate tax deduction. A gift of appreciated securities provides significant benefits, including an immediate charitable deduction for the full market value of the stock and avoidance of capital gains taxes that would normally be due upon sale.

     • Advance Your Legacy. Gifts to endowment funds are invested to pay out in perpetuity. Endowment gifts are eligible for the Endow Iowa 25% State Tax Credit and the federal charitable deduction.

     If you are not itemizing your deductions this year and instead plan to take the standard deduction, you can still decrease the tax impact on your bottom line.

     • Reduce Income with a Charitable IRA Rollover Contribution. People age 70.5 and older can transfer up to $100,000 per year from individual retirement accounts (IRAs) to charity–without incurring federal income taxes today or estate and income taxes in the future. You can help provide a lasting legacy to the community and causes you love by donating your IRA rollover to an unrestricted fund, a field of interest fund, or a designated fund at the JCCF.

     • Increase After-tax Income with a Gift Annuity. The JCCF can help you study options for a charitable annuity directed to the endowment fund of a non-profit you choose.

     • Give Appreciated Securities. See above. 

     For more information about how the JCCF can help you minimize your tax burden, contact Sherri Hunt, JCCF coordinator, at 319-551-3402 or jccf@dbqfoundation.org.