home | banking | car | college | credit/credit card | economy | home/mortgage | insurance | investment | retirement | spending | tax | et cetera

December 10, 2004 12:24 PM

Put Away Your Check Book


Excerpt: I don't want to sound like Ebenezer Scrooge, but I do want you to think twice before you write another check to charity. Why? Because there might be a much smarter way to be generous. Consider giving appreciated securities -- stocks or mutual fund shares -- instead of cash.


I don't want to sound like Ebenezer Scrooge, but I do want you to think twice before you write another check to charity. Why? Because there might be a much smarter way to be generous. Consider giving appreciated securities -- stocks or mutual fund shares -- instead of cash.

When you give $1,000 in cash, you get to deduct $1,000, and that saves you $250 in the 25% bracket. (Any state income tax savings are gravy.)

But let's say you have $1,000 worth of mutual fund shares that you bought more than a year ago for $500. If you sold those shares, you'd owe $75 in tax on the profit even at the special 15% capital gains rate. But if you donate those shares, the charity gets the full $1,000 (it doesn't have to pay tax on the profit when it sells), you avoid that $75 tax bill and you still get to deduct the full 1,000 bucks. It's a win, win, win situation.

What if you don't want to part with your investment? Give it away, anyway, and use the cash you would have donated to re-invest. The maneuver is perfectly legal and simply wipes out the tax bill that's built up so far.

Read Full Story ...



Social Security Reform, With One Big Catch (December 12, 2004)
OF all the arguments being made to replace part of Social Security with private retirement accounts, few are more seductive and more misleading than the prospect of earning higher returns. Get ready to hear a lot about this next week, when President Bush is host ...
Bush Eyes Social Security Threat (December 12, 2004)
President George W. Bush said on Saturday Social Security must be overhauled to avoid a "looming danger" of insolvency, as he launched a public push for his proposal to add private accounts to the program. Bush faces a tough sell on his proposal, which is ...
IRS to Issue Rules On Tax Shelters (December 09, 2004)
Stepping up its war on tax shelters, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service plan to announce revised ethical standards for lawyers, accountants and other tax advisers. The new standards attempt to discourage people from designing and peddling shelters that have no apparent ...
Year-End Tax Planning Moves for Small Businesses (December 08, 2004)
ATTENTION SMALL-BUSINESS OWNERS: Now is not the time to get distracted by the holiday chaos. Time is rapidly running out on your chance to make some savvy tax-saving moves that could slash thousands of dollars off your 2004 small business tax bill. So drop the ...

Read all 46 posts in the same category of Tax:

Few People Aware Of New State Sales Tax Deduction - Dec 17, 2004
Ownership Has Its Privileges - Dec 12, 2004
Bush Rejects Raising Taxes to Pay for Social Security Plan - Dec 12, 2004
Social Security Reform, With One Big Catch - Dec 12, 2004
Bush Eyes Social Security Threat - Dec 12, 2004
IRS to Issue Rules On Tax Shelters - Dec 09, 2004
Year-End Tax Planning Moves for Small Businesses - Dec 08, 2004
Give Tomorrow, Get the Tax Break Today - Dec 08, 2004
2004 Year-End Tax Planning Moves - Dec 08, 2004
CCH Capital Changes Identifies Top Ten Tax-Complex Corporate Actions for 2004 - Dec 07, 2004
GainsKeeper Suggests Year-End Tax Planning Strategies to Minimize 2004 Taxes Owed - Dec 07, 2004
Stocks That Need Special Tax Moves - Dec 07, 2004
Poll: Social Security Needs Reform - Dec 07, 2004
Options Open On Tax Reform - Dec 07, 2004
More Tips to Slash Tax Tab - Dec 05, 2004
10 Tax Time Bombs To Defuse Now - Dec 04, 2004
Property Taxes Rising Nationwide - Dec 04, 2004
Noncash Gifts To Charities Can Be Deducted - Dec 04, 2004
2004 Year-End Tax Planning Moves - Dec 02, 2004
Get Your Car Ready for a Fast Giveaway - Dec 02, 2004
Don't Fear the Use-It-Or-Lose-It Rule - Dec 02, 2004
Partnerships Lose Tax Exclusion On Canceled Debt - Dec 01, 2004
A Tax Break for Your Kidney - Dec 01, 2004
8 Profitable Year-End Tax Moves - Nov 29, 2004
Tax Break Curbed: Changes To Donation Write-Off May Hurt Charities - Nov 28, 2004
When Is That Holiday Turkey Taxable? - Nov 26, 2004
Your Next Tax Hike - Nov 26, 2004
Line Up Your Tax Deductions - Nov 26, 2004
Last Chance to Trim Your Taxes - Nov 23, 2004
Know Your Optimal Year-End Tax Strategies - Nov 22, 2004
To the Point of No Returns - Nov 22, 2004
Turning the Tax Tables to Help the Poor - Nov 22, 2004
With Checkbook in Hand, Think of Uncle Sam - Nov 22, 2004
Moratorium On Web Tax Advances - Nov 17, 2004
25 Ways to Spend Your Flex Account - Nov 17, 2004
Bush Advisors Urge Deeper Tax Cuts In 2nd Term - Nov 17, 2004
The Best Way to Save on Health-Care Costs - Nov 16, 2004
Use it or Lose It - Nov 16, 2004
A New Twist To Your Tax Bill? - Nov 16, 2004
Taxes and Consequences: The Second Term Begins - Nov 13, 2004
Microsoft Payout Tempts Investors On Tax Strategy - Nov 12, 2004
What the Recent Tax Changes Mean to You - Nov 07, 2004
Highlights of 2004 Changes in the Income Tax Laws - Nov 04, 2004
Bush's Tax Cuts Are Unfair ... To the Rich. - Nov 03, 2004
No Rest for the Bleary: New Tax Turns to Ponder - Nov 03, 2004