Sharpe Blog

Some information you may find helpful. First, for individuals who attain 70.5 years of age after 2019, the age at which RMDs must begin is raised to age 72. Age 70.5 continues to be the age at which QCDs (so-called IRA rollover gifts to charity) can begin to be made…but for individuals who haven’t reached …Read More

Author note: This is an opinion piece. Feel free to disagree.   At the CGP national conference in New Orleans in October 2019, much discussion occurred in the Leadership session about the charitable gift planning opportunities under the SECURE Act, which was recently signed into law. The SECURE Act eliminates the stretch-out IRA for non-spouse …Read More

Some charities count bequest provisions in wills of living individuals. Usually, the charity requires a copy of that portion of the will that provides for the charity. If it were up to me, I’d use the “two sets of books” approach discussed last time in connection with pledges. For “public consumption” I’d have a minimum …Read More

Last time, we considered situations in which the donee organization receives an asset currently. Now let’s look at some situations in which the donee is sure or pretty sure of receiving assets not currently but over time. The most common such situation is a pledge that is solid. “Solid” meaning likely to be paid. Charities …Read More

The end of one year and the beginning of another always marks a busy season for those engaged in charitable gift development activities. Recent tax law changes and economic factors give us more reasons to make our “to-do” lists. “To do” at the end of 2019 December 31 falls on a Tuesday this year. Have …Read More

I get this question a lot. The answer isn’t provided by tax law, because the tax law is unconcerned about gift counting. Nonetheless, the tax law applies to the date of gift, for example. As a result, a counting decision in some situations — say, when to count a year-end gift — may wind up …Read More

As we approach the end of the year, many nonprofits experience their highest level of donations. This rush of individual gifts, and holiday vacations, can sometimes slow down organizational processes of depositing and receipting gifts. For almost all types of gifts, this delay has no tax consequences. For example, if a donor mails a check …Read More

Last time, we looked at credit card gifts and some of the problems with these gifts…including the credit card fee. We left off with an equation for figuring the amount Doris should charge to her credit card so that after the 2.5% credit card fee, the charity winds up with $10,000: X – .025X = …Read More

Last time, we looked at credit card gifts…and some of the problems with these gifts. There’s one more problem, a common problem, with credit card gifts, which arises when the donor wants to establish a gift annuity with a credit card. Let’s take the case of Doris, aged 79, who wants to set up a …Read More

Last time, we looked at some problems related to the donor. Now we look at problems related to the asset the donor wants to use to make the gift. The discussion here could fill a two-volume gift planning reference service. The assets range from credit card gifts, to gifts of partnership interests, to gifts of …Read More