This Year, It’s Time to Give Smarter
Giving before year-end offers two fold benefits!
First, you would be supporting the works and dreams of your local medical center.
Second, your gift to us can give back to you!
The Benefits Possible With Year-End Giving Make a Donation Here |
· Save on this year’s income tax · Save on capital gains tax · Save on future estate tax · Increase your support for charity |
How It Works
If you itemize deductions, a gift is deductible in the year you make it. Generally, the effect of the deduction is that the higher your income tax bracket, the more you will save in taxes. Montana also allows an income
tax deduction for charitable gifts, so the total tax savings are often higher than those generated by the federal income tax deduction alone. If you have had to take the standard deduction in past years, giving more may increase your deductions above the standard. This qualifies you for a greater tax benefit.
Example |
A person who pays taxes at a 28 percent marginal federal income tax rate makes a gift of $1,000 this year. It is as if that person has actually spent only $720. The $280 difference is the tax that the donor would have paid if no gift had been made. |
Montanans have an added incentive for charitable giving . . .
MONTANA ENDOWMENT TAX CREDIT
The Montana Endowment Tax Credit allows donors to pay less in Montana state income taxes when they give a qualifying planned gift to a qualified Montana charitable endowment.
The incentive is 40% of the value of the gift, up to a maximum $10,000 tax credit in one year, and a credit of 20% of a direct gift by a qualified business, up to a maximum of $10,000 in one year.
Example: A donor, 65, purchases a $10,000 charitable gift annuity in 2005 with a certificate of deposit that has matured. As income beneficiary, the donor will receive 6.0% or $600 per year for life. The donor names the permanent endowment of a favorite Montana non-profit 501(c)(3) organization as the remainder beneficiary of the annuity. Therefore, the donor is eligible for the Montana Endowment Tax Credit. The federal charitable deduction for the gift is $3,553 and the qualifying amount of the Montana Endowment Tax credit is $1,421 or 40% of the present value of the planned gift. (Assumes an IRS discount rate of 5%.)
Ways to Give . . .
| At a Glance Make a Donation Here |
Most Popular |
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Bequest
Living Trust
| Just takes a simple designation in your will or trust and costs nothing during lifetime. They are easy and revocable if situation changes.
Avoids probate. Just name the charity as a beneficiary. |
Increase Your Cash Flow |
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Gift Annuity
| You can make a gift and receive guaranteed fixed payments for life. Payments may be much higher than your return on low-earning securities or CDs. |
Cheapest Source of Cash |
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Life Insurance
| Donate policy, take a deduction, deduct future premium payments, if any, and make an extraordinary gift. Or just name the charity as policy beneficiary. You’ll also get the proceeds out of your taxable estate. |
Most Popular with Advisors |
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Charitable Remainder Trust | Great tool for selling assets tax-free and receiving income for life; the remaining assets go to charity. It provides steady cash flow and can be more beneficial than keeping an asset or selling it outright. |
Most Expensive for Kids |
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Retirement Assets
| Retirement funds paid to your kids at your passing can get hit with income and estate taxes, but are tax-free to charity. Funds left to children may be hit with income and estate taxes of 70% or more. |
Greatly Reduce Estate Tax |
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Charitable Lead Trust
| You greatly reduce or avoid estate tax on trust assets passing to family – if some trust income goes to charity for a few years. Trust provides generous estate and gift tax deductions for wealth transferred to family at a more mature age. |
Most Possibilities |
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Family Business Stock
| When the time comes to transfer or sell the business, there are tax and practical reasons for including a charity in the plan. Tax advisors can be very creative. |
Lasting Tributes |
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Endowments & Memorials
| Strengthens your favorite charity and awards a worthy recipient in your name, if so desired. Established a permanent link with the past and encourages others to participate in the vision for the future. |
In-Kind Rather than Cash |
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Real Estate
Life Estate Deed
Art and Other Assets
| Great for making a gift and also transferring the burden of managing property. It won’t reduce your disposable funds.
You can deed your home or farm property to charity, save taxes with a current deduction, and still use the property for the rest of your life. It won’t reduce your disposable funds.
Gift allows others to appreciate your special holdings. It won’t reduce your disposable funds. |
Gifts of Raised Agricultural Commodities |
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Grain, etc.
| Farmers have a unique opportunity to make a “pre-AGI” charitable contribution of commodity inventory. Reduces taxable income, possibly self-employed social security taxes, possibly sidestep the normal 10% of income corporate charitable deduction limit. |