There are many benefits associated with making charitable gifts. Vermont residents frequently make gifts to charitable organizations in order to provide for important causes. When you make gifts to a charity, you not only get to feel confident that you have helped support a cause you believe in, but you may also get some significant tax advantages as well. 
Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC has extensive experience providing assistance with structuring your charitable giving in order to provide the most benefits possible both for you and for the charities that you are supporting. To find out more about the ways in which our Vermont legacy planning lawyers can assist you with gift giving, give us a call at (802) 879-7133 today.
Benefits to Making Charitable Gifts Vermont
Making charitable gifts is very common among people in Vermont. According to the Vermont Community Foundation, Vermont ranks ninth in the entire United States in terms of volunteerism among Vermont residents. Vermonters not only donate time, but also donate money. In the 2007 tax year, for example, Vermont Community Foundation reports that people throughout Vermont gave more than $260 million to charitable causes over the course of a single year.
There are lots of benefits to giving money to charity, and lots of reasons why you may want to make charitable contributions. You can reap benefits from giving to charity both during your lifetime and after your death.
Charitable gifts can be given over the course of your lifetime so you can see how the charity uses your wealth, so you can take tax deductions from your taxes each year, and so your contributions can be recognized while you are alive.
Charitable gifts can also be given in your will, so you can make a contribution with your money once you no longer need it, or you can use other approaches to leaving money to charities after your death.
Gifts given in a will or using other mechanisms such as charitable remainder trusts can also reduce taxes, and can allow you to make your gifting into your legacy. When you make contributions to a charity, you can continue doing good in the world even after you are gone. You can be remembered by all of the people whose lives you have touched by making charitable gifts and you can feel pride in continuing to make the world a better place even after you have passed away.
When you give money to charities either during your lifetime or after your death, there are tax advantages. For example, if you make a gift to a qualified charity, you can take a tax deduction for the value of the gift if you itemize on your tax return. This reduces the actual cost of the donations that you make, with the percentage reduction based on what your tax bracket is. Giving charitable gifts after your death also results in tax savings as well, which can help you to protect the value of the assets that you leave behind as a part of your estate after death.
How to Structure Your Gifts
There are different ways to give to charity. Direct contributions to existing organizations are one option, but you may also wish to do things like creating your own charitable foundation. When you create a foundation, you can expand the good you can do because you can take donations from others as well as funding your foundation. You can manage the funds in the foundation and provide grants to other charitable causes or use the money to do good work.
You can also use tools like charitable remainder trusts when you make gifts. You need to understand the different ways to structure contributions you make to charities, and you need to consider what approach is best for you, your heirs, and the legacy that you hope to create.
Getting Help with Making Charitable Gifts Vermont
Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC can provide you with help in making sure the charitable gifts that you give during your lifetime and after your death are structured so they provide you with the most tax advantages and so the charity can get as much support as possible. We have helped many clients to ensure that their charitable giving provides the strongest legacy possible.
To find out more about charitable giving, download our free estate planning worksheet . You can also give us a call at (802) 879-7133 or contact us online to speak with a member of our legal team about how a Vermont legacy planning lawyer can assist with charitable giving.
- Does My 401(k) Account Count for Medicaid Eligibility? - October 20, 2022
- Senior Care Options - October 18, 2022
- Is an Oral Will Valid in Vermont? - October 13, 2022
