Give while enjoying its use

If you have considered making charitable gifts as part of your long-term financial and estate plans, you may want to consider ways a primary residence, vacation home or certain farm properties can be used to make a future gift to American Diabetes Association while enjoying a number of current and future financial benefits.

Through a gift of a remainder in real estate, you can make a gift of a home or farm property now, while enjoying the right to live there for the remainder of your lifetime or other period of time you determine. During that time you continue to enjoy the full rights and responsibilities of ownership.

Because you are making a future gift for charitable purposes you may enjoy the benefit of an immediate charitable income tax deduction for the value of that gift. As noted above, you continue to maintain the property and pay the taxes, and you may even receive any income the property generates. Because you have already provided for the eventual ownership of the property, it will not be subject to the possible expense and delay of probate. It will also not be part of your taxable estate, possibly resulting in what may be significant federal and/or state estate tax savings for your heirs.

Planning tips: Gifts of remainder interests in real estate can be especially attractive today during a period of relatively lower interest rates. Depending on the time periods involved, charitable income tax deductions can currently be enjoyed in amounts well over 50% of the value of the property donated. This can reduce federal income taxes for the year of the gift and up to five future tax years. Your advisor can help you determine if this gift is right for your circumstances.

Outright gifts and bequests of real estate are two other charitable gift options that can be excellent under appropriate circumstances. See Q&As About Giving Real Estate for more information.