Donating stock and investments to Corpus Commons

Thank you for your support of Corpus Commons. Please follow these steps to ensure your donation is properly transferred.

  • Contact your broker. Let him or her know of your intent to transfer stock to the Corpus Commons account.
  • Tell your broker the type of stock and the number of shares you would like to transfer.
    • Some brokers will require you to submit a written confirmation letter authorizing the transfer.
    • Remind your broker to include your name with the transfer information.
  • Transfer basics:
    • Transfer to “Owner name/account title”: Corpus Commons
    • Attn: Chad Summervill
    • Account type: NPO
    • Account number: 9607-9926 (Charles Schwab & Co.)
    • DTC #: 0164, code 40
  • Important: To ensure that your gift is promptly recognized and acknowledged, please send a copy of the confirmation letter, via mail or email to:

Donating appreciated stock

If you own appreciated stock, can donate (transfer) that stock to Corpus and potentially benefit in 2 ways (Please consult your tax professional):

  1. You do not pay any tax on the appreciation (increase in stock value since you acquired it).
    • This could be a savings of up to 23.8% if this is a long-term capital gain, meaning you’ve owned the shares for more than 1 year.
    • If you’ve held the shares for less than 1 year, the short-term capital gains savings could be even more.
  2. If you itemize deduction on your taxes, you can deduct (as a donation) the full value of the shares on the day it is transferred.
    • Note that this full deduction only applies to stock that you’ve owned for more than 1 year.
    • For stock held less than a year, you can only deduct the basis (cost at which you bought it). However, the savings from not paying short-term capital gains can be significant, and not everyone itemizes deductions.

Example: You bought 1000 shares of ABC for $1 per share. You have owned the shares for more than 1 year and they are now worth $10/share. You have earned $9,000 in long-term capital gains. Let’s consider 2 approaches:

  • Approach A: You sell the shares, pay the taxes due on the profit, and donate what is left to Corpus.
  • Approach B: You donate the shares directly to Corpus.

The following table compares the outcomes for the 2 approaches:

Approach A

Approach B

Difference

Sale proceeds

$10,000

Capital gains taxes due: 23.8% x $9,000

$2,142

$0

No taxes paid with Approach B.

Amount of donation to Corpus

$7,858

$10,000

Larger donation with Approach B.

Amount to deduct on Schedule A as donation

$7,858

$10,000

Larger Sched A deduction with Approach B.

This illustrates the possible advantages of donating appreciated stock directly to Corpus. The donation may be larger and your tax deduction may be larger.

  • All of the above applies to donations of appreciated bonds and mutual funds, as well as stock.
  • The following instructions should guide you in how to transfer shares from your broker or account to Corpus. We use a Charles Schwab account to receive the shares.
  • You will be sent a detailed accounting of the donation/transfer (# of shares, date received, FMV of shares on date received,…).
  • If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]

Donating a QCD from your IRA

When you withdraw money from a traditional IRA, it is considered taxable income.

A QCD (Qualified Charitable Distribution) is a distribution from an IRA, owned by an individual who is 70½ or older, that is paid directly from the IRA to a qualified nonprofit. You do not pay any taxes on this withdrawal.

  • This can be particular beneficial for donors who do not itemize and instead file the standard deduction. Talk with your financial advisor about your situation.
  • Every IRA account holder must withdraw a required minimum distribution (RMD) annually, beginning at age 73. A QCD will count towards satisfying your RMD. For a QCD to count towards your current year’s RMD, funds must come out of your IRA by December 31st.
  • You can make QCDs to more than one nonprofit each year.
  • QCDs can be made from many types of IRAs (Traditional, Rollover, Inherited, SEP and Simple).
  • If you do itemize, you do not get to use the QCD donation as a deduction, as you have already received the tax break by not having to claim the distribution as income.
  • For more information on QCDs, please see the following links: