Major and Planned Giving

You can deduct cash gifts from your income in the year they are donated, up to 50 percent of your adjusted gross income. You can claim any excess over the following five years with the same annual limitation.

Example: For a donor in the 28-percent income tax bracket, the net cost of a $10,000 cash gift would be only $7,200 because your taxes would be reduced by $2,800 -- yet the full $10,000 would benefit Denison University.

Gifts of appreciated securities offer two benefits to the donor. When you donate appreciated securities to the University, you receive an immediate income tax deduction for the full fair-market value of the securities on the day they are transferred. You also avoid capital gain tax (tax on the difference between the price you paid for the securities and their current market value) which you would pay if you sold the securities, and had owned the securities for more than one year.  Instructions for making a gift using securities are available here.

• You can deduct the current market value of your gift of appreciated securities up to 30 percent of your adjusted gross income with a five-year carry-over for any excess.

Example: A donor gives 300 shares of stock to Denison University. When purchased, the securities cost $25 per share, or $7,500. If the current fair-market value is $100 per share, or $30,000, the donor receives a $30,000 charitable deduction and avoids the capital gain tax on the appreciation of $22,500.

Gifts of real property -- farmland, developed and undeveloped real estate, and personal residences -- are assets which can be given to Denison with personal financial benefits to you. As with gifts of securities, you receive a charitable deduction for the full fair-market value of the real estate given. Capital gain taxes are avoided on the appreciation, as well.

• Real estate gifts are deductible up to 30 percent of your adjusted gross income with the five-year carry-over for any excess.

  Gifts of personal residence (it need not be your principal residence) or farm offer a second alternative unique to this type of property. You can irrevocably deed the property to Denison, but reserve the right to use it during your lifetime and that of another person. You will receive a deduction for a substantial portion of your gift.

  Life income gifts are discussed in another section of this web page. However, it is appropriate to mention at this time that marketable, but low-yield, real estate can be an excellent asset to give to fund a charitable remainder trust, one form of life income gift. It is possible to receive most of the tax benefits mentioned above and receive a lifetime income from such a gift, frequently at a much higher level.

Artwork, antiques, jewelry, rare books, coins, stamps, and similar property in an estate are subject to estate taxes at their current market values. If you donate these gifts during your lifetime, you receive a charitable deduction against your income taxes and avoid taxes in your estate. The gifts must be related to the exempt purposes of the University in order to be fully deductible.

• If you are considering such a gift, please contact the University or your tax counsel to discuss potential tax savings and requirements for a qualified appraisal.