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Finding opportunities to give back was a consistent theme among the participants at the Just for Women 2018 conference. We agree. Giving has an empowering effect on the giver, the charity that serves a need, and most importantly, on the recipients. The desire to give back is innate – not generally driven by financial benefits. Having said that, there are ways you can give that benefit both you and the charity; financially speaking. Here are two that you may want to consider.

Donation-in-kind. If you have an investment in a non-retirement account, you can donate the investment directly to a qualified charity. By doing this you completely avoid capital gains taxes. Furthermore, if you itemize your taxes, you can claim the value of the investment, on the day it was donated, as a deduction. The key benefit is that the charity receives the full value of the donation tax-free. One caveat; you must have owned the investment for at least one year and one day and it must have increased in value.

Qualified Charitable Distribution. If you have reached the wonderful age of 70½, congratulations! Uncle Sam has been waiting for this day. It is at this age that you are required to take money out of your retirement accounts; i.e. IRA, 401(k), 403(b). This is called a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) and will occur every year going forward. If your retirement account is an IRA, you can choose to have the money you are required to take out – all or part – go directly to your favorite charity, taking advantage of the Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) option. The benefit to you – you do not have to claim the distribution as income or pay tax on the money that comes out. This is valuable because the distribution will not have a negative impact on your Medicare Part B premiums. The benefit to the charity – it receives the full value of your donation; tax-free.

I have the pleasure of working with the Utah Parent Center, a local charity that has served families of people with disabilities for over 35 years. I have been impressed by the positive influence they have on so many lives. While they have served more than 25,000 individuals, there are many more who could benefit from the services they provide. However, they need the support of our community to provide services to those additional people. One family’s story is below.

If you would like more information on making a donation-in-kind or qualified charitable distribution using your investments call our office at 801-355-8888. To donate directly to Utah Parent Center, use this link: https://utahparentcenter.org/donate/.

Together, we can make a difference.

SFS