Make a Gift of Stock – Iowa Legal Aid welcomes gifts of stock and appreciated securities. These gifts are an excellent way to support your commitment to equal justice while receiving personal tax benefits.
If you own stock, it is often more tax-wise to contribute stock than cash. This is because a gift of appreciated stock generally offers a two-fold tax advantage. First, you avoid paying any capital gains tax on the increase in value of the stock. Second, you receive an income tax deduction for the full fair market value of the stock at the time of the gift.
For example, if you purchased some stock many years ago for only $1,000, and it is now worth $10,000, an outright gift of the stock to Iowa Legal Aid would result in a charitable contribution deduction of $10,000. In addition, there is no capital gains tax on the $9,000 appreciation in value if the stock has been held more than a year.
Make sure you have owned the stock for a “long-term” period of time (this generally means that you have held the stock for more than a year) to qualify for these significant tax advantages. Your gift of stock should be completed by December 31. A stock broker or trust officer also can arrange for a year-end gift of stock from your account.
Gifts of appreciated stock are fully deductible – up to a maximum of 30 percent of your adjusted gross income. For example, if your adjusted gross income for 2011 is $100,000, up to $30,000 of long-term appreciated stock and other property gifts may generally be deducted in 2011. Any excess can generally be carried forward and deducted over as many as five subsequent years. Please consult your tax advisor for specific advice.
It’s easy to make a gift of stock to Iowa Legal Aid. Here are two ways:
- Have your broker transfer the shares DTC to UBS Financial Services, Inc., the broker who acts on Iowa Legal Aid’s behalf, in Des Moines, Iowa. UBS Financial Services, Inc.’s DTC number is #0221 and Iowa Legal Aid’s account number is 8W-33716. Please note that in this case, the gift is not complete for tax purposes until the transfer is complete.
- If you hold the stock certificate, send it unendorsed in an envelope to:Iowa Legal Aid, 1111 9th Street, Suite 230, Des Moines, IA 50314-2527 along with a letter of authorization stating that this is a donation for deposit into Iowa Legal Aid’s account. In a separate envelope to the same address, send a signed, but otherwise blank, stock power form.
In addition, to ensure that you are properly credited and acknowledged for your gift, it is helpful if you or your broker contacts Iowa legal Aid to let us know a transfer is taking place.