韋斯·莫斯

How to determine what type of charitable giving is best for you

如何找到最適合的慈善捐贈方式

Charitable giving is one way that many people elect to support a specific cause or organization that is close to their heart. From a financial standpoint， charitable giving can be an important part of your estate， tax， and financial planning. In fact， twenty-six percent of taxpayers itemize charitable deductions on their tax return.

Depending on the type of your estate， the amount of money you want to give， and how you want to give it， you may find that youre unsure of what type of charitable giving can work best for you and your philanthropic goals. There are several different ways you can give， each with its own pros and cons， depending on what youre looking for.

Donor-advised funds

A donor-advised fund is a type of charitable giving where you donate a nonrefundable amount， either in cash or securities， to a nonprofit of your choice.

The advantage to this type of giving is that if you feel very close to the cause or organization and want to be involved with how the funds that you give are utilized， you are able to direct the funds administrator to which grants you think should be made. You also immediately receive the maximum tax benefit from the IRS for your contribution， and you can set up the funds to continue even after your death.

Real estate

If you are still living in the property that youd like to give away， you can set it up to become a charitable contribution by having the deed to your real estate transferred after your death. At that point， the value of the home will be taken out of your estate， lowering your estate taxes. You may also find a great tax benefit by donating real estate. In some cases， you may be eligible for a tax deduction equal to the fair market value of the real estate.

Cash

A cash gift is the simplest form of charitable giving. Your tax deduction is equal to the amount of cash you donated， minus the value of any goods or services you received in return. For example， memberships to non-profits， like a zoo or some other organization， are considered cash gifts. Titles， certificates， or stocks are not transferred in a cash donation either.

Stocks

There are two huge advantages to contributing long-term appreciated securities， like stocks.

One， since you are not selling your stocks， there are no capital gains taxes to be concerned with， and the more appreciation the stocks have， the bigger your tax savings will be. The second advantage is that any of your stocks that were purchased over a year ago that have a current value greater than their original cost can be donated and become eligible for a tax deduction equal to the full fair market value of the stock.

Charitable trusts

There are two types of charitable trusts you may be interested in making part of your financial plan—a charitable lead trust （CLT） and a charitable remainder trust （CRT）.

Charitable Lead Trust is a trust that you establish by transferring assets into the trust and donating a stream of income from the assets to a charitable organization each year. Money left in the trust at the end of the period youve established to donate can be disbursed to other beneficiaries or held in the trust.

Not only is this great for transferring wealth to your heirs， but it also provides consistent cash flow to the charity of your choice. The only disadvantage is that it requires annual administrative management.

Charitable Remainder Trust is similar to a CLT， with one big difference. In a CRT， the beneficiaries and donor are paid first， receiving their stream of income before the charitable organization does. However， this is beneficial as it gives you and your beneficiaries income and diversifies your investments.

This is perfect for those with highly appreciated investments that want to create income but still provide consistent cash flow to a charity. Like a CLT， the only disadvantage is the annual administration of the trust.

Giving assets to charity

A major advantage of giving your assets， such as retirement accounts and life insurance policies， to charity is that in addition to any charitable income tax deduction， your estate will not have to recognize that gifted income， which can give you a break on the estate tax. Many also choose to use assets that would normally have an income tax liability， leaving tax-deferred accounts in their estate for beneficiaries， giving them a nice inheritance that wont be taxed.

You may also have tangible assets you want to donate to charity. These items， like art and jewelry， may entitle you to a tax deduction equal to the value of the assets youve donated. If your asset is related to the charity， such as art to a museum， youre more likely to receive a larger tax deduction than gifting something that doesnt directly correlate with the organizations aim or mission.

Pooled income fund

If youre looking to generate income but want to give smaller portions to charity， a pooled income fund may be your best choice. You can “pool” together different securities and/or combine them with cash to create a larger amount of money to distribute to charity. Money is paid out to you and any other benefi-ciaries that have pooled together assets to the fund. At your death， the remainder of the pooled income fund is donated to charity. In some cases， you may be able to receive a charitable tax deduction equal to the amount of money a charity is expected to receive.

Private foundation

Private foundations are charities set up as charitable trusts or corporations. If youre looking to set up your own char-itable foundation， a private foundation is a great way to get the family involved， particularly if you have a cause thats very dear to your heart. Although there are stricter regulations and tax laws， a private foundation can give grants to individuals and you can retain control of donated assets.

許多人選擇以慈善捐贈的方式支持自己認同的某項事業(yè)或某個機構(gòu)。從財務角度來看，慈善捐贈可以是你的財產(chǎn)、稅務和財務規(guī)劃的重要組成部分。事實上，26%的納稅人會在納稅申報單上詳細列出慈善捐贈免稅金額。

每個人的財產(chǎn)類型、意向捐贈金額、意向捐贈方式不同，因而進行慈善捐贈時，你需要考慮：哪種慈善捐贈最符合你的意愿和慈善目標。下面列舉幾種慈善捐贈方式，每種各有其優(yōu)缺點，取決于你看重哪個方面。

捐贈人建議基金

捐贈人建議基金是慈善捐贈的一種方式，指以現(xiàn)金或證券向中意的非營利機構(gòu)捐贈，所捐資產(chǎn)不可退還。

這種捐贈方式的優(yōu)點在于：如果你非常認同某一慈善事業(yè)或慈善機構(gòu)，并希望參與決定所捐善款的用途，可以向基金管理人提出撥款建議。捐贈之后，你可以即時獲得美國國稅局提供的最高稅收優(yōu)惠。此外，你還可以設(shè)立基金，在去世后延續(xù)你的慈善事業(yè)。

房產(chǎn)

如果你仍然住在意向捐贈的房產(chǎn)中，可以通過去世后轉(zhuǎn)讓房產(chǎn)契據(jù)，將其設(shè)置為慈善捐贈。在此情況下，房屋的價值將從你的遺產(chǎn)中扣除，由此降低你的遺產(chǎn)稅。通過捐贈房產(chǎn)，你可以獲得高額稅收優(yōu)惠。在某些情況下，你還可能有資格獲得與房產(chǎn)公平市價數(shù)額相等的稅收減免額。

現(xiàn)金

現(xiàn)金捐贈是最簡單的慈善捐贈方式。你捐贈的現(xiàn)金數(shù)額，減去因捐贈所得的任何實物或服務的價值，即為你的稅收減免數(shù)額。成為非營利機構(gòu)（比如動物園或其他機構(gòu)）的會籍可視為現(xiàn)金捐贈。所有權(quán)、證書或股票在現(xiàn)金捐贈中也不會發(fā)生轉(zhuǎn)移。

股票

可以捐贈股票等長期增值的證券，這種方式有兩大優(yōu)點：

其一，由于你不賣出股票，所以無須擔心會被征收資本利得稅;此外，股票升值越多，你的稅收減免越多。其二，凡是超過一年以前購入的股票，若其當前價值大于其原始成本，你就可以捐贈這只股票，并有資格獲得與該股票的公平市價全額相等的稅收減免額。

慈善信托

以下兩種類型的慈善信托，你可能會有興趣將其納入自己的財務規(guī)劃中：慈善先行信托、慈善剩余信托。

慈善先行信托是指你把資產(chǎn)轉(zhuǎn)入信托慈善先行信托，并逐年將資產(chǎn)收益捐贈給慈善機構(gòu)。在你所設(shè)置的捐贈期限結(jié)束時，信托里的剩余資金可以分配給其他受益人，也可以繼續(xù)存放在信托中。

慈善先行信托不僅有利于你將財富轉(zhuǎn)移給你的繼承人，也能為你選定的慈善機構(gòu)提供穩(wěn)定的現(xiàn)金流。它唯一的缺點是需要年度行政管理。

慈善剩余信托和慈善先行信托類似，但兩者有一個明顯區(qū)別：慈善剩余信托中，受益人和捐贈人要先于慈善機構(gòu)拿到錢。不過這是有利的，它能給你和你的受益人帶來收益，也能讓你的投資更為多元化。

對于那些擁有優(yōu)質(zhì)投資項目、希望既創(chuàng)造收益又為慈善機構(gòu)提供穩(wěn)定現(xiàn)金流的人而言，慈善剩余信托是絕佳選擇。和慈善先行信托一樣，它唯一的缺點是需要年度行政管理。

向慈善機構(gòu)捐贈資產(chǎn)

你可以將資產(chǎn)（比如退休金賬戶、人壽保險單）捐贈給慈善機構(gòu)，這樣做的一大好處是：除了獲得慈善所得稅減免以外，你捐贈的這部分資產(chǎn)收益無須納入你的遺產(chǎn)之中，由此獲得遺產(chǎn)稅上的減免。也有不少人向慈善機構(gòu)捐贈通常會產(chǎn)生所得稅的資產(chǎn)，將遞延納稅賬戶留給受益人，讓他們擁有一筆無須納稅的遺產(chǎn)。

此外，你也可以將一些有形資產(chǎn)（比如藝術(shù)品、珠寶）捐贈給慈善機構(gòu)，由此獲得與所捐資產(chǎn)價值相等的稅收減免額。比起捐贈與慈善機構(gòu)的目標或使命沒有直接關(guān)聯(lián)的資產(chǎn)，如果捐贈與慈善機構(gòu)密切相關(guān)的資產(chǎn)，比如將藝術(shù)品捐給博物館，你有可能獲得更多的稅收減免。

共同收益基金

如果你希望創(chuàng)造收益，但只想將少部分收益捐贈給慈善機構(gòu)，共同收益基金也許是最佳選擇。你可以將不同證券匯集在一起，也可以把證券和現(xiàn)金組合起來，創(chuàng)造更多收益以資助慈善機構(gòu)。共同收益基金產(chǎn)生的收益將分配給你和為基金出資的其他受益人。在你去世后，剩余的共同收益基金將捐贈給慈善機構(gòu)。某些情況下，你可能會獲得與慈善機構(gòu)所收捐款數(shù)額相等的稅收減免額。

私人基金會

私人基金會是設(shè)立為慈善信托/公司的慈善機構(gòu)。如果你希望建立個人的慈善基金會，特別是如果你有自己熱愛的事業(yè)，私人基金會是個不錯的選擇，可以讓你和家人都參與進來。盡管受到更為嚴格的法規(guī)和稅法制約，私人基金會也有其優(yōu)點：可向個人提供資助，捐贈人可保留對所捐資產(chǎn)的支配權(quán)。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）