Good News Florida

FINANCE 32 NOVEMBER 2017 Good News • Broward Edition Now that we are in the heart of the holiday season, you may be thinking about ways you can put your money where your heart is. Specifi- cally, you might be pondering which groups you should sup- port with charitable gifts. And as long as you choose groups that meet the right criteria, your generosity can also be rewarding to you, in the form of tax benefits. To begin with, you’ll want to make sure you are giving to a reputable charity. That means you’ll need to ask some questions. How does a group measure its effective- ness? Is it devoting as much of its contributions as possible to the actual work of the or- ganization, or is it spending too much money on adminis- trative costs? Generally, a worthwhile charity should spend at least 75 percent of its income on programs. You may be able to find this type of information on a charitable group’s annual report and its website. You can also go to the website of one of the agencies that evaluates char- itable groups. On these sites, you can get a lot of informa- tion dealing with a charity’s ef- fectiveness, income, spend- ing and other topics. After you’ve identified a charity, or charities, you can decide how much you want to give and how you want to give it. If the charity has 501(c)(3) status (named after the sec- tion of the Internal Revenue Code that governs such groups), your gift can offer you a tax deduction. So, for example, if you are in the 25 percent tax bracket, and you give $1,000 to a qualified charity, you can subtract the $1,000 from your adjusted gross income, which will re- sult in tax savings of $250. Upon making your gift, make sure you get a receipt that lists the name of the organiza- tion and the date and amount of your contribution. (Your maximum deduction will be limited to a percentage of your adjusted gross income.) You can do more than simply write a check, however. If you have stocks that have grown significantly in value, you may want to donate them to a charitable group. You will be allowed a charitable deduc- tion for the full fair market value of the gift on the date of the transfer, even if your orig- inal cost was only a fraction of today’s value. Furthermore, you will avoid the capital gains taxes you’d have to pay if you sold the stock, provided you’ve held the stock for at least a year. If you do contribute ap- preciated stocks, you will want to be cognizant of the ef- fect of your donation on your portfolio. If you were to give a sizable amount of growth-ori- ented stocks, would it affect your overall growth potential? Conversely, if you are prima- rily giving away relatively con- servative, income-producing stocks, would it end up mov- ing your portfolio in a riskier direction? When donating stocks, if at all possible try to do so in a way that does not harm your portfolio’s balance. In any case, whether you give cash or appreciated as- sets, you’ll need to make your gift by Dec. 31 if you’re going to deduct it on your 2017 taxes. So be as generous as you can afford, think about the effect of your gift on your own financial situation – and be prepared to act soon. This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor. Sponsored by William J. Holland at 954-768-0703. Everyone Benefits When You Make Charitable Gifts 6*745&#; 018'/$'4 6* È\Îä* ̜ ™\ää* Õ}ià Տˆ˜>ÀÞ] {Îx£ £Ó̅/iÀÀ>Vi ">Ž>˜` *>ÀŽ] ÎÎÎÎ{ ÜÜÜ° i>ÀÌÓ i>ÀÌ"ÕÌÀi>V…°œÀ} 9 4 /CTM ;QWT %CNGPFCTU 0QY HQT *GCTV *GCTV 1WVTGCEJoU 5KIPCVWTG #PPWCN 'XGPV ,QKP WU HQT C URGEKCN GXGPKPI VQ EGNGDTCVG C [GCT QH RTQXKFKPI *12' UJCTKPI .18' CPF TGUVQTKPI 274215' VQ VJG GNFGTN[ (QT VKEMGV CPF URQPUQTUJKR KPHQTOCVKQP ECNN QT GXGPV"JGCTV JGCTVQWVTGCEJ QTI 6KEMGVU CTG RGT RGTUQP