Planned Giving

Although mutual funds are sold by individual mutual fund companies rather than on an exchange, the same charitable contribution rules apply to mutual fund shares as to shares of publicly-traded securities. Gifts of mutual funds have the same tax benefits as gifts of individual securities.

If you have held your securities for more than one year and they have appreciated in value, you should give them directly to Robin Hood. This way, you will avoid paying tax on any capital gains you have in your securities. If you sell your securities first and then give us the proceeds, you will have to pay capital gains tax on all of your capital gains — an unnecessary and potentially substantial cost to you.

When you make a charitable gift of cash, you only get an income tax charitable deduction. When you make a charitable gift of the same value with appreciated stock, you get the same income tax charitable deduction and you avoid tax on all of your capital gains. The more highly appreciated your security, the more capital gains tax you will avoid.

No. If you sell securities that have lost value, you can net that capital loss against capital gains. Even if you cannot take a deduction for lost securities this year, there is a five-year carry-forward. If you want to make a gift of loss securities, we recommend you sell the securities and take the capital loss. You can then donate the proceeds of your sale to Robin Hood and use the capital loss to offset future capital gains.

The charitable deduction available for property you have owned for 12 months or less, so-called “short-term capital gains” property, is limited to either its current full value or what you paid for it, whichever is less. For example, if you give stock worth $10,000 that you purchased nine months ago for $1,000, your charitable deduction will be $1,000, not $10,000. When you give short-term gain property, your deduction is limited to 60% of your adjusted gross income, rather than 30%.

Yes. Whether you plan to give one or 1,000 shares, it is easy to gift your publicly-traded securities.

Yes, another option for giving securities is through a life income plan, such as a charitable remainder trust or pooled income fund. This allows you to provide income for yourself or others you care about — and then provide support to Robin Hood! Here’s how it works: You transfer securities to the life income plan. A gift of appreciated securities to a charitable remainder trust or pooled income fund will typically defer — or in some cases, completely avoid — capital gains from your gift of securities. During the term of the life income plan, you receive payments from the plan each year, typically for life. When the life income plan ends, its remaining principal goes to support Robin Hood. Using securities to fund a life income plan typically will reduce your income taxes, providing tax savings if you itemize, and reduce or eliminate your capital gains taxes.

You can save income tax and capital gains tax when you give shares of a publicly traded security that you have owned for a year or more:

Income Tax Benefits: If you have held your securities for more than one year (and provided you itemize) you may deduct from your taxable income the full fair market value of your shares as of the date of your donation, regardless of what you paid for them. Your deduction is limited to 30% of your adjusted gross income. You may, however, carry forward any unused portion of your deduction for up to five additional years.

Capital Gains Tax Benefit: When you donate publicly traded securities that have increased in value and you have owned the securities for more than one year, you do not have to report any of your capital gains in the securities. If you were to sell these securities yourself, you would owe capital gains tax on the difference between the sale price and the amount you paid for them.