STEWARDSHIP

NOVEMBER 2024

Giving to Immanuel Part One – Cash Gifts
This is one of three articles about how you can contribute financially to Immanuel Highlands. This article covers cash gifts. The other articles discuss gifts of appreciated securities and contributions directly from an IRA. Whether by actual currency, checks, or electronically, one of the easiest and most familiar ways to give to Immanuel is by cash. Offering plates are passed during services, you can mail checks to the church, and you can donate via a few clicks on our parish website. The website will even let you establish scheduled donations from a credit card, debit card, or bank account.

Contributions made through the website incur transaction fees that reduce the amount received by the church. The fees for credit and debit card transactions represent about 3% of the gift amount and fees for automatic deductions from a bank account are about 1%. You can maximize the value of your contribution by increasing the donation to offset the associated fee, but the parish gratefully recognizes the generosity behind every gift. You are usually allowed an income tax charitable deduction for the value of the donation, but charitable contributions can reduce your tax bill only if you itemize your deductions. Please note that Immanuel Highlands does not render legal or tax advice. For advice and assistance in specific cases, you should obtain the services of an accountant, attorney, or other professional advisor.

Giving to Immanuel Part Two – Appreciated Securities
This is one of three articles about how you can contribute financially to Immanuel Highlands. This article covers gifts of appreciated securities. The other articles discuss cash gifts and contributions directly from an IRA. Instead of selling securities like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds and donating the after-tax proceeds to Immanuel, consider donating these assets directly to the church. The tax savings from gifts of appreciated property are significant when compared to cash gifts of the same value.

If you give the church an appreciated asset that you’ve owned for more than one year, it can subsequently be sold by the church and you can avoid capital gains taxes on the appreciation. Because the church does not pay capital gains taxes, the appreciation won’t be taxed when the church sells the asset. It is important to transfer the appreciated property to the church before selling it to avoid the capital gains tax. If the value of the asset has declined during your ownership, you can sell the asset first and give the proceeds to the church. By doing so, you might be able to realize a capital loss and potential tax deduction. In addition, you are usually allowed an income tax charitable deduction for the fair market value of the donated asset at the time of the gift. Charitable contributions can reduce your tax bill only if you itemize your deductions. Whether as a gift or to meet a pledge commitment, it is easy to transfer securities held at a financial institution to Immanuel. To complete the transfer, provide your instructions and this information to the institution that holds the securities: Receiving firm: Manufacturers & Traders Trust Company Receiving firm DTC number: 0990 Account name: Immanuel Church Highlands Account number: 131267-000 Please note that Immanuel Highlands does not render legal or tax advice. For advice and assistance in specific cases, you should obtain the services of an accountant, attorney, or other professional advisor.

Giving to Immanuel Part 3 – From Your IRA
This is one of three articles about how you can contribute financially to Immanuel Highlands. This article covers qualified charitable distributions from IRA accounts. The other articles discuss cash gifts and gifts of appreciated securities. A qualified charitable distribution (QCD) is a distribution of funds directly from your IRA to Immanuel church. You are eligible for QCD’s once you turn 70½ even if you are not yet subject to required minimum distributions (RMD’s). In most cases, QCD’s count toward RMD’s but do not represent taxable income. Because they are not taxable income, QCD’s cannot be deducted as charitable contributions. But avoiding income can be superior to deducting contributions because the taxable portion of Social Security benefits and surcharges for Medicare Parts B and D depend on your gross income. Avoiding taxable income in the first place can be better than deducting it later. The amount of a QCD is not related to your RMD; you may donate any amount via QCD’s up to $105,000 annually (for each spouse if you file a joint income tax
return). Amounts that exceed your RMD do not count toward future RMD’s. Funds distributed directly to you, the IRA owner, and which you then give to charity do not qualify as a QCD, so consult your IRA custodian to initiate a QCD. Qualified charitable distributions can only be made from IRA accounts, not from other retirement accounts such as 401(k) or 403(b) plans. Please note that Immanuel Highlands does not render legal or tax advice. For advice and assistance in specific cases, you should obtain the services of an accountant, attorney, or other professional advisor.