Mount Olive Lutheran Church - Austin, Texas
Stock Gift Assistance
Donating appreciated stock can be a great way for those who contribute to your church or school to bless your ministry while at the same time allowing them to reduce or even avoid capital gains tax.
Many Lutherans have stock which they have held for many years that has greatly appreciated in value. The downside to this is that the federal government is prepared to levy taxes on their capital gains should they wish to sell their stock. Generally, the taxes owed on the capital gains are charged at a rate of 15 percent (5 percent if individuals are in the 10 percent tax bracket).
But when your members or supporters donate publicly traded stocks held long term (owned for more than one year) to your ministry they avoid all capital gains taxes. Plus, they may take the full fair market value of the stock gift as a charitable deduction on their income taxes if they itemize their return. (The maximum deduction they may take within a given tax year for appreciated assets is 30 percent of their adjusted gross income. If they are unable to take the entire deduction in one year, they may carry the excess deduction forward for five additional years.)
Even if they own stock they may wish to keep in their portfolio, giving the stock to ministry and using cash to buy the same stock through their broker provides the same income tax deduction with a new, higher basis in the stock.
The Lutheran Foundation of Texas can accept and process donations of stock on behalf of your church and school and forward you the proceeds from the sale. Scroll down this page to find what to do if you have stock held in a brokerage account, or if you have stock held in certificate form. Scrolling down the page even further will give you information on processing fees.
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Gifting Stock Held in a Brokerage Account
1. FIRST, please contact the Lutheran Foundation of Texas (1-800-880-3733) and inform the Foundation that you intend to make a gift of stock!
2. Complete the Letter of Gift Instructions to Lutheran Foundation of Texas and mail it to the Lutheran Foundation of Texas, 7900 East Highway 290, Austin, TX 78724-2499.
3. Complete the Letter of Instructions to Stockbroker and mail it to your stockbroker. Be sure to mail a copy to the Lutheran Foundation of Texas.
4. The value of the gift is determined by the average of the low and the high value of the selling price of the stock on the day your gift of stock is placed into the Foundation's account at Banc of America. A letter of acknowledgment is sent to the donor.
5. After receiving the proceeds from Banc of America for the sale of stock, the Foundation sends a check and letter to the donor's selected ministry or ministries.
6. An administrative fee of $25 is charged for a pass-through gift of stock per the Donor Schedule of Fees available upon request. The Foundation will send up to three checks to ministries selected by the donor at no additional charge. Any additional checks will be assessed a $10 administrative fee.
7. A donor uses IRS Form 8283 (provided by LFOT) to report non-cash gifts valued over $500. No qualified appraisal is needed for publicly traded stock.
8. For a gift of stock given to a Charitable Remainder Trust or Gift Annuity, the donor needs to provide the cost basis and date of acquisition of the stock.
* To gift Mutual Funds please contact the mutual fund company and LFOT to determine the viability of making such a gift and discuss what paperwork may be needed. Transfers of mutual funds can be completed only if they can be accepted by our brokerage company.Back to top
Gifting Stock in Certificate Form
1. FIRST, please contact the Lutheran Foundation of Texas (1-800-880-3733) and inform the Foundation that you intend to make a gift of stock!
2. Complete the Letter of Gift Instructions to Lutheran Foundation of Texas.
3. Complete the Banc of America Investment Services, Inc. Letter of Authorization.
4. Complete the Stock Power with a guarantee from a national bank or stockbroker member of the NYSE. The signature must match exactly with the name on the stock certificate.
5. On the stock power, sign and date only. Leave everything else blank!
6. Do not sign the stock certificate. Send the stock certificate just as it is!
7. Send the Letter of Gift Instructions to Lutheran Foundation of Texas, the Banc of America Investment Services, Inc. Letter of Authorization, and the Stock Power to the Lutheran Foundation of Texas, 7900 East Highway 290, Austin, TX 78724-2499 by regular US mail.
8. In a separate envelope send the stock certificate to the Foundation by registered US mail, UPS, FedEx, or similar service. Never send a stock certificate and a stock power together in the mail!
9. The value of the gift is determined by the average of the low and high value of the selling price of the stock on the day the stock certificate and stock power are postmarked as mailed to the Foundation.
10. After receiving the proceeds from Banc of America for the sale of stock, the Foundation sends a check and cover letter to the donor's selected ministry or ministries.
11. An administrative fee of $25 is charged for a pass-through gift of stock per the Donor Schedule of Fees available upon request. The Foundation will send up to three checks to ministries selected by the donor at no additional charge. Any additional checks will be assessed a $10 administrative fee.
12. A donor uses IRS Form 8283 (provided by LFOT) to report non-cash gifts valued over $500. No qualified appraisal is needed for publicly traded stock.
13. For a gift of stock given to a Charitable Remainder Trust or Gift Annuity, the donor must provide the cost basis and date of acquisition of the stock.
* To gift Mutual Funds please contact the mutual fund company and LFOT to determine the viability of making such a gift and discuss what paperwork may be needed. Transfers of mutual funds can be completed only if they can be accepted by our brokerage company.Back to top
Processing Fees
One-time Gift of Stock: For a one-time pass-through gift of stock an administrative fee of $25 is charged to receive the stock, sell the stock, place the proceeds from the sale of the stock into a pass-through account, and distribute the gift to ministry. The Foundation will write up to three checks to ministries selected by the donor at no charge. Any additional checks will be assessed a $10 administrative fee.
Recurring Gifts of Stock: If a donor intends to make recurring gifts of stock on a regular basis year after year, the donor may choose to establish a Pass-Through Trust with the Foundation that provides an ongoing agreement for receiving, selling, and distributing annual stock gifts. The Pass-Through Trust Agreement can be written so the same ministry is blessed every year or so the donor can select different ministries each year. An administrative fee of $50 is charged to establish the Pass-Through Trust Agreement, receive and sell the stock, place the proceeds into the trust account at the Foundation, and distribute the gift to ministry. A fee of $25 is charged for any future recurring pass-through gifts. Each year the Foundation will write up to three checks to ministries selected by the donor at no charge. Any additional checks will be assessed a $10 administrative fee. A recurring pass-through trust requires a minimum balance of $100. If the trust is terminated, this amount is distributed in full to the named charitable beneficiary of the trust. Pass-through gifts of real estate will be assessed pass-through fees on a case-by-case basis.
*Administrative fees for pass-through gifts of Mutual Funds will be assessed on a case by case basis as determined by the Executive Director of the Foundation.Back to top
Please contact us for more information.