What’s Is the Best Way to Give to Charity?

What’s Is the Best Way to Give to Charity?

Charitable giving plays a valuable role in estate and tax planning. A well-planned donation can also provide a healthy income tax deduction, along with a reduction of estate taxes. Your generous donation could help to maintain financial security, exert control over assets during life and after death and provide for heirs, as explained in a recent article titled “Charitable giving good for heart, 1040” from the Valdosta Daily Times.

To accomplish any of these objectives, you’ll want to work with an experienced estate planning attorney who can help tailor an estate plan to your individual circumstances. Here are some strategies to consider.

Gifts of appreciated property might allow you to avoid capital gains tax owed when the asset is sold and, if planned properly, might allow you to receive an income tax deduction, usually worth the fair market value of the asset.

Removing any assets from your estate reduces the potential estate tax liability.

If you want to make a donation to a charity but you’d like to maintain some control over it, a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) might be a good fit. A CRT works best when funded by an appreciated asset, such as real estate or stock in a family owned business.

Once the property is transferred to the CRT, the CRT can sell the appreciated assets it holds without paying capital gains taxes. It then continues to provide income generated by the CRT to the beneficiaries for a period of time, as instructed by the CRT. At the end of this period, the remainder of the CRT is donated to the charity. You avoid capital gains on the assets you donated, an income stream and you also receive a tax deduction.

Another strategy is to use a Charitable Lead Trust or CLT. With a CLT, you give the charity the use of the asset and the right to any income generated for a predetermined time. When the time period ends, the asset reverts to you or is given to whoever you designate in the CLT. Appropriate assets for a CLT could be income-producing stocks and bonds, a valued collection or a painting transferred to a museum for a certain period of time.

You likely receive a current income tax deduction for the value to the charity. However, you receive no other direct benefit during the term. If a CLT is created upon your death, estate tax liability could be reduced.

Early tax planning can help make the most of any charitable giving opportunities and let you take full advantage of any additional benefits. Talk with an experienced estate planning attorney to receive guidance appropriate to your unique situation.

Reference: Valdosta Daily Times (Dec. 4, 2022)  “Charitable giving good for heart, 1040”

Is Your Home Your Largest Asset or Biggest Liability?

Is Your Home Your Largest Asset or Biggest Liability?

If you’re a homeowner who’s ready to retire, you’ve most likely worked to pay off the home, while dreaming of the day when you could relax and live a mortgage-free, life while enjoying the fruits of your labor. However, Real Simple’s recent article entitled “For Retirees, a Home Could Be Your Largest Asset—or Your Biggest Liability” provides important food for thought.

Signs Your Home Is Your Largest Asset. A home can be one of your biggest assets because of the equity that’s been built up. You’ll be able to pass it on to your heirs, and they get a step-up in cost basis to the current market value. This will significantly reduce capital gains taxes, if the home is later sold by your children. With that equity, you can take money out of the house in a home equity line of credit. If your 62 or older with a substantial amount of equity in your home, it can be used as collateral for a reverse mortgage.

Signs Your Home Is Your Biggest Liability. A home can be a liability when it’s worth considerably less than what you paid for it, especially if you have a mortgage. The last thing you want when you’re retiring is to be saddled with a debt that has no equity. Your home could be also considered a liability, if it falls under the category of an expense that you have to manage, such as a mortgage, homeowner’s insurance, municipal taxes, repair or renovation costs, or homeowner’s association fees.

Stay or Sell? Take a holistic approach to what you want in your retirement years and determine what importance you place on your living space. The answer to this is at the core of deciding if you need to downsize. If you decide to sell your home and downsize to something less expensive, be sure to save part of the proceeds from the home’s sale. You can use that money to fund traveling, hobbies, the cost of living, or any other project in retirement.

You should also try to be more objective in evaluating your home as an asset or a liability. Retirement-aged homeowners generally choose one of these options: (i) plan to pay off your mortgage before your target retirement date; (ii) get a reverse mortgage that pays out over a specified time period; (iii) rent out the home for cashflow or offset a monthly cash flow deficit, if you have a mortgage; or (iv) sell the home in the future.

If you decide to stay in your home, there are several ways to monetize home equity in retirement, such as needs-based government programs like property tax abatements or home improvement forgivable grant programs. As alternatives to a reverse mortgage, you could tap into loan products such as a home equity line of credit or a conventional mortgage loan.

Reference: Real Simple (Nov. 1, 2021) “For Retirees, a Home Could Be Your Largest Asset—or Your Biggest Liability”

What are Biggest Blunders in Wealth Transfer?

What are Biggest Blunders in Wealth Transfer?

When it comes time to transfer what we’ve work so hard to accumulate, the way in which we transfer our wealth can have a big impact on how much of our wealth is actually received by our heirs and how much is transferred to the federal government.

Forbes’ recent article entitled “Top 7 Tax Mistakes Made in Planning a Wealth Transfer” says that tax mistakes can mean losing a lot of hard earned money, if you’re not careful. Here are some of the biggest mistakes made in wealth transfer planning.

  1. IRD Taxes. Most people are unaware of this tax. It stands for “Income in Respect of the Decedent.” It’s the income tax your heirs will pay on tax-deferred assets, such as traditional IRAs, 401k’s and annuities. In many cases, these taxes will push heirs into a higher marginal tax bracket. You should plan to reduce or eliminate the IRD Tax, if you have a 401k, IRA or annuities. For example, if you gift IRA and 401k assets to charity and non-IRD assets to your heirs, you can save them in IRD Taxes! The use of a Charitable Remainder Trust can provide a tax-efficient way to create a “charitable stretch IRA” for your children or grandchildren.
  2. Charitable Giving Mistakes. Most people do charitable giving with after tax cash from their income. However, this isn’t the most efficient way to give. Gifting highly appreciated securities, real estate, or even business interests can give you a double tax benefit: it can eliminate capital gains taxes and still get the charitable tax deduction.
  3. Dying without a Comprehensive Estate Plan. About three-quarters of Americans die without a will. A will, by itself, subjects your assets (and your heirs) to probate. A well-designed estate plan can help reduce or eliminate both probate and estate taxes. Ask an experienced estate planning attorney about creating a comprehensive estate plan for you or review the one you have.
  4. No (or Improper) Beneficiary Designations. This can result in a loss of inheritance for your family. With retirement accounts like IRAs or 401(k)s, properly designating beneficiaries is essential to avoid the loss of further income tax deferral at death. If you don’t have primary and contingent beneficiaries named on all your accounts, these assets will have to go through probate and could cost unnecessary IRD taxes.
  5. Improper Titling of Business Interests. A business is frequently titled only in the name of the business owning spouse. However, when that spouse dies, the business itself must go through the costly process of probate, which can create issues for the operation of the company.
  6. Bad Choices for Ownership & Beneficiary Designations on Life Insurance. Life insurance can be a great financial planning tool and provide liquidity. It can also be a great wealth transfer tool in estate planning or business planning. However, if the ownership and beneficiaries are done incorrectly, the life insurance benefits can be subject to estate taxes. Ask an experienced estate planning attorney about an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT).
  7. Giving the Wrong Assets to your Heirs. A common mistake that people make in wealth transfer planning, is to leave a percentage of their estate to their children, another to their grandchildren and another to their favorite charities (or Donor Advised Fund) in their will or via a trust. However, this isn’t the smartest way to distribute your assets from a tax perspective. Doing so could subject them to IRD taxes. Instead, use IRA (and other IRD assets such as 401k) for your gifts to charity and, give non-IRD assets (such as cash, real estate, life insurance, or a Roth IRA) to your children and grandchildren.

Reference: Forbes (Dec. 15, 2021) “Top 7 Tax Mistakes Made in Planning a Wealth Transfer”

Why Do People Give to Charities at End of Year?

Why Do People Give to Charities at End of Year?

The landscape for charitable giving has undergone a lot of change in recent years. More changes are likely around the corner. This year, a more intentional approach to year-end giving may be needed, according to the article “How to Make the most of Year-End Charitable Giving” from Wealth Management.

From the continuing pandemic to natural and humanitarian disasters, the need for relief is pressing on many sides. Donors with experience in philanthropy understand charitable giving as part of a tax strategy, part of providing the essential support needed by non-profits to keep operating and respond to emergencies and, at the same time, ensure their charitable dollars are aligned with their family values and missions.

For the tax perspective, changes resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 left many nonprofits harshly impacted by the doubling of the standard deduction, which gave fewer people a financial incentive to donate. The question now is, could the latest round of proposed changes spur greater giving?

Amid all of these changes, sound and stable giving strategies remain the wisest option.

The CARES Act encouraged individual giving during times of hardship, and tax breaks were extended in 2021. However, certain incentives are now closing, such as the ability to deduct up to 100% of adjusted gross income for cash gifts made directly to public charities.

The Build Back Better Agenda proposes increasing the long-term capital gains tax rate for individuals with more than $400,000 of taxable income, and married couples filing jointly with more than $450,000 of taxable income, to 25%, plus a 3% surcharge to income of more than $5 million. This would make charitable giving more attractive from an income tax perspective. However, this bill has yet to be passed.

Consider the following strategies:

Qualified charitable distributions. RMDs must be taken in 2021. For donors taking a standard deduction, a qualified charitable distribution is a possible option. If you are 70½ and over, you can donate up to $100,000 from an IRA. This satisfies the RMD, as long as the gift goes directly to a charity, not to a Donor Advised Fund.

Contributions of appreciated stock. To make charitable gifts in the most tax-efficient way possible, a donation of appreciated stock is a smart move. Donors receive a charitable income tax deduction (subject to AGI limitations) and avoid capital gains tax.

Charitable bequests. The uncertainty around income tax reform includes estate taxes, and pro-active individuals are now reviewing their estate plans with their estate planning attorneys.

Funding a Donor Advised Fund (DAF). A DAF allows donors to contribute assets to a tax-free investment account, from which they can direct gifts to the charities of their choice. The contribution to the fund provides the donor with a charitable income tax deduction in the year it’s made.

Reference: Wealth Management (Oct. 11, 2021) “How to Make the most of Year-End Charitable Giving”

What are the Worst Things to Leave in My Estate?
calculator and estate asset document representing the concept of death taxes

What are the Worst Things to Leave in My Estate?

Kiplinger’s recent article entitled “5 of the Worst Assets to Inherit” says that if you’re planning to leave an inheritance to others, you should take care in what you leave them. Some assets can cause problems. However, you can prevent problems with thoughtful estate planning and the help of an experienced estate planning attorney.

Let’s look at five of the worst assets to inherit and what you can do to help manage them before you pass away:

Timeshares. A timeshare is a long-term agreement where you get to use a vacation property. These contracts are notoriously difficult to end. If you pass away, and your children inherit the timeshare, they may be responsible for the ongoing contract costs. Allow your children to decide at your death whether they want to take over the contract. They can refuse to accept it then—even if your will left them the timeshare—by making a formal disclaimer of the asset.

Potentially Valuable Collectibles. This may be a coin collection, rare stamps, or a piece of artwork. Note that the capital gains tax rate on collectibles goes up to 28%, much higher than the maximum 20% long-term gains rate on other investments. When you die, your heirs receive a step-up-in-basis, meaning when they sell they receive tax-free what the collectible was worth on the day you die. Even so, there are some substantial risks to leaving valuable collectibles as an inheritance. One problem with collectibles is that thy may be difficult to value. If you have any valuable collectibles, tell your heirs where they’re located, their estimated value and the dealers they should work with after you’re gone, so they don’t run into trouble.

Guns. Firearms can also get complicated as an inheritance because of the amount of regulation. They aren’t the type of asset that you can simply hand over to a person without the proper registration or permit. There are a number of state and federal rules, depending on your state of residence and the type of gun.

Vacation Properties. Inherited vacation properties can be a potential financial and emotional problem, especially if you’re leaving one to multiple family members. Disagreements can arise over how often each can use the property, who owes what for the repairs, whether they should sell and whether they should buy one of them out and at what value, especially if one heirs is living far away and doesn’t want their share. Even if the siblings are on good terms, a vacation property has expenses, like maintenance, property taxes, insurance and any remaining mortgage. These costs could outweigh the value of the vacation property to your heirs. If you have a vacation home, begin these discussions early with your heirs and determine if they even want the property and, if so, can you get them to agree on the terms.

Any Physical Property (Especially with Sentimental Value). Disagreements among heirs can happen over any type of physical property, like a favorite chair or Mom’s silverware. These sentimental items can be tough to divide. Moreover, it’s harder to tell what some of these items are worth. Avoid these issues and start planning the distribution of your physical property ahead of time. It is important to be clear on who will receive what to prevent arguments.

Reference: Kiplinger (Sep. 14, 2021) “5 of the Worst Assets to Inherit”

Do You Pay Income Tax when You Sell Inherited Property?

Do You Pay Income Tax when You Sell Inherited Property?

From the description above, it’s clear the family had a plan for their land. However, from the question posed in a recent article titled “I inherited land that recently sold. What will I owe in taxes?” from The Washington Post, it’s clear the plan ended with the sale of the property.

For an heir who is expecting to receive a share of the proceeds, as directed in the mother’s last will, the question of taxes is a good one. What value of the land is used to determine the heir’s tax liability?

The good news: when the great grandfather died, the land passed to the mother and her siblings. To keep this example simple, let’s assume the great-grandfather’s estate was well under the federal estate tax limits of his time and there were no federal estate taxes due.

Next, the mother and her siblings inherit the land. When a person inherits an asset, they usually inherit both the asset and the step-up in the value of the asset at the time of the person’s death. If the great-grandfather bought the land for $10,000 and when he died the land was worth $100,000, the mother and her siblings inherited it at that value.

When the uncles sold the land after the death of their sister, the mother, her heirs inherited her interest in the land. If the person asking about taxes is an only child and an only beneficiary, then he should receive his mother’s one-third share of the land or one-third share in the proceeds. With the stepped-up basis rules, the son inherits the land at its value at the time of the mother’s death.

Assuming the land was worth $300,000 at the time of her death, the son’s share of the land would be worth $100,000. That’s his cost or basis in the land. If he sold the land around the time she died or up to a year after her death, receiving his share of $100,000, he would not have any federal income or capital gains to pay.

If the family sold the land for $390,000 recently, the son’s basis in the land is $100,000 and his sales proceeds would be $130,000, or a $30,000 profit. He would be responsible for paying taxes on the $30,000.

If the land was sold within a year of the mother’s death, there would be no tax to pay. However, after one year, any profit is taxed at the capital gains rate.

There will also be state taxes due on the profit and there’s an additional 3.8 percent tax on the sale of investment property. If the son used the home on the land as a primary residence, there would not be an investment property sales tax.

In this kind of situation where there are multiple heirs, it’s best to consult with an estate planning attorney to ensure that the transaction and taxes are handled correctly.

Reference: The Washington Post (July 26, 2021) “I inherited land that recently sold. What will I owe in taxes?”

When Do I File a Tax Return for an Estate?

When Do I File a Tax Return for an Estate?

In this example, Mom’s entire estate is valued at less than $20,000. This includes a mobile home worth about $12,000, which the children plan to sell.

Would the estate need to report income tax?

Nj.com’s recent article entitled “We are settling an estate. What tax returns do we have to file?” says that there are a few issues to consider.

One is the mother’s Social Security income for 2020. There shouldn’t be any income tax filing requirement, if she didn’t have any other reportable income during that year.

An individual taxpayer with income under $34,000 must recognize up to 50% of the Social Security income. Therefore, in this example, since the mother’s Social Security income was only $20,000, she would have to recognize $10,000 of income.

However, that amount of taxable income is below the individual federal standard deduction of $12,000. As a result, there’d be no requirement to file a federal income tax return for her.

There may be a tax on the Social Security at the state level.

Note that Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia impose state income tax on Social Security payments to at least some beneficiaries.

However, there is income on capital gains recognized on the sale of the mobile home, which must be reported on federal and state income tax returns.

The basis of the mobile home would be adjusted to the value of that property as of the mom’s date of death, if she was the sole owner of that asset.

If the mobile home is sold for more than its adjusted basis, the gain would have to be recognized and reported on that excess amount.

However, if the mobile home is sold for an amount equal to its date of death value, then there would be no gain. Used mobile homes are not high demand, so it is likely there would be no gain on the sale.

Reference: nj.com (Feb. 18, 2021) “We are settling an estate. What tax returns do we have to file?”

How to Keep the Family Vacation Home in the Family

How to Keep the Family Vacation Home in the Family

If this winter-like weather plus pandemic have left you wondering about how to get started on passing the family vacation home to the family or preparing to sell it in the future, you’ll need to understand how property is transferred. The details are shared in a useful article titled “Exit strategy for keeping the cabin in the family” from The Spokesman Review.

Two options to consider: an outright sale to the adult children or placing the cabin in a qualified personal residence trust. Selling the vacation home and renting it back from the children, is one way that parents can keep it in the family, enjoy it without owning it, and help the children out with rental income.

One thing to bear in mind: the sale of the vacation home will not escape a capital gains tax. It’s likely that the vacation home has appreciated in value, especially if you’ve owned it for a long time. If you have made capital improvements over that time period, you may be able to offset the capital gains.

The actual gain is the difference between the adjusted sales price (that is, the selling price minus selling expenses) and their adjusted basis. What is the adjusted basis? That is the original cost, plus capital improvements. These are the improvements to the property with a useful life of more than one year and that increase the value of the property or extend its life. A new roof, a new deck, a remodeled kitchen or basement or finished basement are examples of what are considered capital improvements. New curtains or furniture are not.

Distinguishing the difference between a capital improvement and a maintenance cost is not always easy. An estate planning attorney can help you clarify this, as you plan for the transfer of the property.

Another way to transfer the property is with the use of a qualified personal residence trust (QPRT). In this situation, the vacation home is considered a second residence, and is placed within the trust for a specific time period. You decide what the amount of time would be and continue to enjoy the vacation home during that time. Typical time periods are ten or fifteen years. If you live beyond the time of the trust, then the vacation home passes to the children and your estate is reduced by the value of the vacation home. If you should die during the term of the trust, the vacation home reverts back to your estate, as if no trust had been set up.

A QPRT works for families who want to reduce the size of their estate and have a property they pass along to the next generation, but the hard part is determining the parent’s life expectancy. The longer the terms of the trust, the more estate taxes are saved. However, if the parents die earlier than anticipated, benefits are minimized.

The question for families considering the sale of their vacation home to the children, is whether the children can afford to maintain the property. One option for the children might be to rent out the property, until they are able to carry it on their own. However, that opens a lot of different issues. They should do so for period of one year at a time, so they receive the tax benefits of rental property, including depreciation.

Talk with a qualified estate planning attorney about what solution works best for your estate plan and your family’s future. There are other means of conveying the property, in addition to the two mentioned above, and every situation is different.

Reference: The Spokesman Review (April 19, 2020) “Exit strategy for keeping the cabin in the family”

The Many Responsibilities of Inheriting a Home

The Many Responsibilities of Inheriting a Home

When you inherit a home, there are three key factors to consider: the financial and legal responsibilities of the home, the tax liabilities of the home and what you’ll eventually do with the home. All of these different things relate to each other, explains Million Acres in “A Guide to What Happens When You Inherit a House.”

Let’s look at taxes first. There’s no federal tax associated with inheriting a house, but some states have inheritance taxes. For most situations, this inheritance does not lead to an immediate tax liability. When a property is inherited, the IRS establishes a fair market value for the property, which is the new basis for the property. This is a step-up basis. It is the valuation that is used to set future taxes, when the property is sold.

Capital gains are a tax relating to the profits generated from selling an asset, in this case, a house. The step up in basis means the heir only has to pay capital gains taxes, if the home is sold. The taxes will be the difference between the fair market value set at the time of the inheritance and the selling price.

If the property has a mortgage, heirs will need to know what type of mortgage it is and if it is assumable or due on sale. Most mortgage companies allow heirs to take over the payments, according to the original loan terms. However, if there is a reverse mortgage on the home, the unpaid balance is due when the person who took out the reverse mortgage dies. This usually requires the heirs to sell the home to settle the debt.

The condition of the inherited home often determines what heirs decide to do with the house. If it hasn’t been maintained and needs major work, it may be easier to sell it as-is, rather than undertake renovations. Heirs are responsible for taxes, insurance and maintenance. However, if the house is in good shape, it may make sense to keep it.

What happens when siblings inherit a house together? That can get complicated, if each person has a different idea about what to do with the house. One may want to sell now for cash, while another may want to rent it out for income. What ultimately happens to the property, may depend on how well the siblings communicate and make decisions together.

Often the best option is to simply sell the home, especially if multiple heirs are involved. Note that there are costs associated with the sale of the house. This includes any outstanding debts, like a mortgage, the cost of fixing up the home to prepare it for sale, closing costs and fees and real estate agent commissions. If there is a profit on the sale of the home from the tax basis at the time of inheritance, the heirs may need to pay short-term or long-term capital gains tax, depending on how long they held the property.

Talk with an estate planning attorney about managing the sale of the family home. They will be able to guide you, advise you about taxes and keep the family moving through the process of settling the estate.

Reference: Million Acres (December 4, 2019) “A Guide to What Happens When You Inherit a House”

What Do I Need to Know About Owning Property with Someone Other than My Spouse?

What Do I Need to Know About Owning Property with Someone Other than My Spouse?

Have you ever considered owning property jointly with a family member, friend, or a business associate? Inside Indiana Business’ recent article, “Risky: Property Owned with a Non-Spouse,” says that you should think about the negatives, such as loss of control, unknown creditor issues and tax consequences.

Loss of Control. When you choose to co-own an asset with another person, you can enter into a legal ownership agreement known as “joint tenants with rights of survivorship” or “JTWROS.” When one of the owners dies, the surviving owner automatically becomes sole owner of the property. However, you give up some control of ownership, when you own property in this way. For example, you can’t direct your portion to go to a spouse or a child after your death in your will or other estate planning documents. OK, you can, but your co-owner’s ownership title takes precedence over your estate documents. As a result, she will become the sole owner. You can also lose some control over the property, if the non-spouse co-owner transfers her interest in the property to another individual without your consent. It’s also tough to remove a co-owner from the property title without his or her full cooperation.

Creditors. Another issue with jointly held property is that it’s subject to creditors’ claims against both owners. If your brother, as a co-owner of your cabin, has financial troubles and files for bankruptcy, his ownership in the cabin could possibly be claimed by a creditor. He could also be forced to sell it to pay off his debts. So, unless you can buy out his ownership in the cabin, you may now own the property with a stranger.

Potentially Higher Taxes. Adding a non-spouse as co-owner of an asset, allows for a simple property transfer at your passing. However, it could also mean both a gift tax to you and an increased capital gain tax for your heir. By adding a non-spouse to the property title, you’re making a gift to the new joint owner. Therefore, based on the current value of the property being gifted, you could be liable for gift tax. In addition, the heir of the property may have to pay increased capital gain taxes. Property transferred at death receives a step-up in basis. This means the heir’s cost basis is equal to the fair market value of the property at your death, instead of your cost basis (the amount you paid for the property). Receiving a step-up in basis reduces the heir’s capital gain on the appreciation of the property when it’s sold. However, if you add a co-owner, only your interest in the asset has the benefit of stepped-up basis at your death, not the entire property. When the property is sold, this may mean a higher capital gain tax.

JTWROS vs. Tenants in Common. When deciding to co-own an asset with another person, you can also enter into an ownership agreement known as “tenants in common.” Here’s a key difference: holding property JTWROS with another person means that when one owner dies, the other owner receives the property outright and automatically. When owning property as tenants in common with another person, when one owner dies, the owner’s heirs receive his share in the property. A co-owner can again transfer his interest in the property without approval as the other co-owner. This loss of control may place you in a difficult position.

When considering property ownership with another party, look at the pros and cons of both JTWROS and tenants in common. The cons usually outweigh the pros. However, if owning property with a non-spouse is what you want, discuss this with a qualified estate planning attorney.

Reference: Inside Indiana Business (December 1, 2019) “Risky: Property Owned with a Non-Spouse”