Copy


THE SPIRIT OF GIVING

Your generosity has the potential to change the trajectory of a life.
Start Giving - Join the Urban League

Support a Worthy Cause!  



Dear Urban League Supporter, 

The new tax law is poised to be signed by the end of 2017 and will take effect on January 1, 2018. Over the past month, we have heard from many of our supporters who are wondering what effect the expected changes will have on their finances and how it may impact their charitable giving plans. To help with this question we are providing some information on the changes that most directly affect charitable giving. 

  1. the increase in the standard deduction ($12,000 for singles, $24,000 for married couples filing jointly); and
  2. elimination or restriction of numerous itemized deductions (though the charitable deduction remains intact).

Both of the above will increase the number of individuals claiming the standard deduction, and thus reduce the benefit of the charitable deduction. However, if you live in a state with high income taxes and high property taxes and you have a mortgage, you may still be able to itemize. 

Even if you won’t itemize, here are some strategies to make lifetime gifts to charity and still receive tax benefits: 

  • Make gifts of appreciated property such as publicly-traded securities to charity. Even if you don’t itemize, you will still be able to avoid capital gain tax by making a gift of appreciated assets held for at least one year.
  • Make gifts to charity using the charitable IRA rollover. If you are over 70½ you can make a direct transfer from your traditional IRA or Roth IRA to charity of up to $100,000. Such a transfer is not taxable and counts towards your required minimum distribution.
  • Make larger gifts to charity. If your total non-charitable deductions are close to equaling the standard deduction, a large charitable gift may increase your total deductions enough that it makes sense for you to itemize; the additional tax savings that itemizing offers may reduce the effective cost of your gift. 

If you want more insight into the anticipated changes to the bill you can see them here in an article published by the BBC.

If you plan to itemize for 2017, you may wish to consider making a gift this calendar year to realize the full tax benefit. In addition, it may make sense for you to accelerate some charitable contributions planned for 2018 into 2017 to get a larger income tax charitable deduction this year. 

It’s not too late to make sure you see a tax break for this year (when you itemize deductions on your income tax returns), you must make your gift before Dec. 31. Here are a few important things to keep in mind: 

  • Credit Card: A last-minute gift can be made online through Dec. 31 by visiting our donation page.
  • Checks: If you plan to send a last-minute gift by mail, we recommend that you send your gift via the U.S. Postal Service with a postmark on or before Dec. 30 (the last day post offices are open). 
As with any change, you should contact your accountant or financial planner to understand how the new tax law will affect your individual tax situation. Do not hesitate to contact Joe Calabrese via email at jcalabrese@ulr.org if you need any assistance or have any questions. Thank you.
 

 

BE PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER


YOUR GIFT – IN ANY AMOUNT – IS PRICELESS
When you make a donation to support our cause, you join hundreds of generous people who are investing in a better community. The dollars we receive are used exclusively for our programs. 
Start Giving - Join the Urban League
Copyright © 2017 Urban League of Rochester, All rights reserved.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp