This time of year, our thoughts often turn to taxes. As you file your return, you may be wondering if there are ways to save on your taxes. There are! Charitable contributions enable you to support the work and organizations that are important to you and save on your taxes.
Let’s explore a couple of unique giving options.
Charitable Gift Annuities
Did you know you could make a gift to support Christian Living Communities and receive fixed payments for life? This is possible with a charitable gift annuity (CGA). And the good news is that payouts from CGAs are at their highest levels in a decade.
A CGA is a simple contract between you and CLC. You make a donation, and we pay you fixed annuity payments for life. After your lifetime, what’s left of your gift will directly support the CLC community or fund that you choose.
A couple of things worth noting: besides supporting the charitable work that is important to you, you can name someone, such as your spouse, as a beneficiary of the payments. Also, part of each payment will not be subject to income tax throughout your estimated life expectancy. Additionally, you can enjoy capital gains tax savings if you donate appreciated property, such as stocks, to fund your CGA.
Qualified Charitable Distribution
A qualified charitable distribution is a distribution from an IRA made directly to an eligible charity, bypassing the owner of the account. They are also called IRA charitable distributions or IRA charitable rollovers.
This is a great giving vehicle if you are forced to take a Required Minimum Distribution from your IRA, and you don’t need it. A direct transfer of IRA funds to Christian Living Communities would not produce a charitable income tax deduction, but you also would not pay income tax on the distribution.
As always, you can direct that gift to what’s most important to you – providing tuition assistance for team members, helping qualified residents in need, for enrichment at a CLC community, or to help provide paid internships for chaplains as part of the Chaplain Fund.
Please note, there are rules for eligibility, including that you must be at least 70 ½ years old in order to make a QCD.
We are happy to provide additional information on both of these types of gifts, and as always, we recommend consulting with your financial advisor. Please reach out to Stephanie Manley, Director of Philanthropy, with any questions at 720.974.3675 or smanley@clcliving.org.
About the Author
Olivia Mayer served as Christian Living Communities Director of Donor Relations from 2009 through June 2023, when she embarked on her retirement. Olivia set strategy and identified the tactics to encourage philanthropic support of CLC. Olivia’s passion is connecting people with a desire to support older adults. Always interested in discovering people's stories, Olivia was a newspaper reporter and freelance writer prior to joining CLC.
