Why People Use a Donor Advised Fund: What the Data Shows
People use donor advised funds to achieve different goals, from support of cherished nonprofits to gifts in response to particular needs.
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Charitable Giving and Taxes: What You Need to Know in 2023
Charitable giving can impact the world while making you eligible for tax deductions. Review the IRS changes from 2022 to 2023.
Read MoreFoundation Update: A Message from Our Founder
The Signatry has reached another major milestone in its growth: William “Bill” High, the Foundation’s founder and executive chairman, announced his retirement this week.
Read MoreA Major Milestone: Celebrating $4 Billion Sent
In November of 2022, The Signatry officially facilitated over $4 billion in grants since beginning in June 2000.
Read More2023 Charitable Contribution Limit and Your Giving Plans
As you and your family cultivate a lifestyle of generosity, you may want to gain a deeper understanding of giving-related tax strategies that can help your charitable contributions reach as far as possible. Create your 2023 giving plan early. Build your strategy based on the 2023 standard deduction, charitable contribution limits, IRA charitable contribution rules, and more. After all, good stewardship includes even the ways we fill out our tax forms. Charitable Contribution Limits: How much giving is deductible? Tax benefits for charitable contributions: Current tax law offers charitable deductions to donors who itemize taxes and contribute cash or appreciated non-cash assets (make sure to hold them for more than a year before donating). So, what is the charitable contribution limit in 2023? The annual exclusion for gifts increases to $17,000 for calendar year 2023, up from $16,000 for calendar year 2022. The charitable contribution limit for a gift of cash to a public charity or donor advised fund remains 60% of one’s adjusted gross income (AGI). Donors may claim a tax deduction for non-cash asset gifts to qualified public charities and donor advised funds up to 30% of their AGI. Donation amounts in excess of these limits may be carried over for up to five tax years. Should You Itemize? 2023 Standard Deduction The standard deduction for married couples filing jointly for tax year 2023 rises to $27,700, up from $25,900 the prior year. For single taxpayers and married individuals filing separately, the standard deduction rises to $13,850 for 2023, up from $12,950 the prior year. And for heads of household, the standard deduction will be $20,800 for tax year 2023, up from $19,400 for tax year 2022. Giving More in 2023 STOCKS AND CHARITABLE GIVING Appreciated stocks donated to a donor advised fund before they are sold do not affect the donor’s capital gains taxes. Donating appreciated stocks before they sell is another strategy to minimize tax burden and maximize generosity. Learn more here. GIVE APPRECIATED NON-CASH ASSETS INSTEAD OF CASH For those who itemize deductions, giving capital assets such as stock, cryptocurrency, real estate, or business interest to a donor advised fund may maximize your generosity and minimize taxes. Beyond claiming a deduction for the fair market value of an asset, donors can avoid the capital gains tax they would otherwise incur if they sold the asset and then donated the cash proceeds. This can mean even more going to charity and less to taxes. LEVERAGE DEDUCTION RULES OR A BUNCHING STRATEGY Bunch contributions. You may find that the total of your itemized deductions for 2023 will be slightly below the level of the standard deduction. If so, it could be beneficial to bunch 2023 and 2024 charitable contributions this year by donating two years’ worth of your planned contributions to a donor advised fund. This can allow you to itemize deductions on 2023 taxes and take the standard deduction on 2024 taxes. In addition to achieving a large charitable impact now, this strategy could produce a greater total deduction across the two years, depending on your contribution amounts and filing status. With a donor advised fund, you can recommend a schedule of gifts to go out across the two years and add any additional amounts from the itemized 2023 return as bonus gifts to charities. CONSIDER RETIREMENT ASSETS Make a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) of IRA assets. Individuals age 70½ and older can direct up to $100,000 per year, tax-free, from their Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) to operating charities through qualified charitable distributions (QCDs). A QCD satisfies your RMD requirement for the year, and by reducing your IRA balance, a QCD may also reduce your required minimum distribution (RMD) in future years, lower your taxable estate, and limit your beneficiaries’ tax liability. A donor advised fund is not an eligible recipient of a QCD—a distribution from your IRA to a DAF will not be tax-free. The Signatry offers other giving methods that may receive a QCD, including designated funds. Grants from a designated fund can only be sent to a single charity. Learn more here.
Read MoreCharitable Bunching: How this Tax-Deduction Strategy Works
Taxpayers donating to charities yearly, yet find themselves below the standard deduction threshold should consider charitable bunching.
Read MoreThe Power of Community: The Church’s Role in Global Orphan Care
We recently got to ask Trace Thurlby and his team at the Global Orphan Project a few questions about how modern Christians can best care for orphans and vulnerable children…
Read MoreProviding All People Access to God’s Word by 2033
IllumiNations envisions that by 2033, 95 percent of the world’s population will have access to a full Bible, 99.96 percent will have access to a New Testament and 100 percent of the world’s population will have access to at least some portion of Scripture. In the world’s most strategic 100 written languages, at least two viable Bible translations will be available.
Read MoreMillennial Giving Continues to Grow Through Non-Traditional Methods
The last few decades of charitable giving have been driven in large part by donors in the Baby Boomer generation and older, with Gen X donors becoming bigger players in…
Read MoreA New Perspective on Donor Advised Fund Regulation
As the fastest growing vehicle in charitable giving, donor advised funds (DAFs) have become a major part of the philanthropic landscape in America1. There are numerous features that have contributed…
Read More2021—A Pivot Year for Charitable Giving
Where will charitable giving go in 2021? It is a critical question. Why? In recent years, total charitable giving has run in the $400 billion range. The nonprofit sector contributes…
Read MoreA Year for Interdependence
There is so much to celebrate throughout God’s Kingdom in 2020 and great anticipation for what we can accomplish this upcoming year. I think of two proverbs that can help…
Read MoreWhere is 2020 Giving Going?
The Too Early Predictions for 2020 Charitable Giving: What We Know Now and Where it May Go Buildings closed. Events canceled. Shelter in place is part our language now. With…
Read MoreHow Donor Advised Funds are Changing the Giving Industry
Donor advised funds are making the news. An October 3, 2018, Bloomberg article chronicles their rise. More than half of the top ten charities in the country are donor advised…
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