Want to give a gift to Wears Valley Ranch and maximize your tax savings?

Consult your financial advisor about whether these strategies could work for you.

Make Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) from your IRA: If you are age 70.5 or older, the law continues to allow for QCDs, which means you can gift a portion or all (up to $100,000) of your required minimum distribution (RMD) tax free to charity. Normally, an RMD is taxed as ordinary income (taxed at the level of your tax bracket). However, the amount given as a QCD is removed from taxation.

Note: Your 1099R will not identify your IRA distributions as QCDs. You must track these yourself and inform your CPA of the portion that applies to the QCD.

Donate Appreciated Stock: If you have a taxable investment account with stocks that have increased in value, consider donating your appreciated stock instead of cash. Your charitable contribution is still tax-deductible if you itemize (subject to certain limits), but you also eliminate the capital gains on the stock appreciation. This approach works even if you still want to own the stock. Simply donate the shares to charity, then buy them again using the cash you would have donated. Your gift is still tax deductible; you still own the stock but at new stepped up basis; and the charity receives the full value of your gift.

Remember, both of these strategies can help you save on your taxes, even if you no longer itemize!

What is “bunching?”

Special provisions in the recent tax law are resulting in many tax payers “bunching” ~ a strategy that helps to exceed the newly increased standard deduction thresholds with charitable giving. Taxpayers are being advised to select a specific year to provide charitable donation, non-emergency medical expenses, and other itemized deductions and “bunch” these items/events into a single tax year to make the most of getting a possible deduction. If you have been a faithful donor to the Ranch in the past, please let us know if you decide to “bunch.” We rely on you for the daily needs of caring for the children, and knowing of any change in your plans helps us to know how we can better budget for the year.

No matter what your financial strategies are, we know that God is the One who provides. He is in control. He can be trusted and has entrusted us to be caretakers of the blessings He provides. May God bless you as you seek to serve and honor Him.

I am Yahweh your God,
who brought you up from the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

Psalm 81:10