Plan Your Philanthropy
Whether you're doing some mid-year planning or preparing for year-end, now is a good time to consider strategies that can improve the tax effectiveness of your charitable giving.
From cash gifts and appreciated stock to donor-advised funds and qualified charitable distributions, there are several tools available to help you maximize your impact and minimize your tax burden. These strategies can benefit a wide range of donors but may be especially relevant for corporate executives and other high-income individuals.
Give cash
Cash gifts to qualified public charities remain deductible up to 60% of your adjusted gross income (AGI),1 making them a powerful way to reduce your taxable income. For many high-earners, this can translate into meaningful tax savings while supporting causes that matter.
Also, the annual gift tax exclusion amount has increased to $19,000 for 2025 (and to $38,000 per married couple),2 so you may gift up to that amount to another person without tax implications. If you happen to have several family members on your gift list, each may receive up to $19,000 in cash annually with no tax consequences for you.
Give appreciated stock
A wonderful way to diversify your portfolio, especially if you hold concentrated equity positions, is to donate appreciated stock. This proven giving strategy comes with several benefits. Here are four:
- You get a tax deduction for the fair market value of the stock.
- You avoid paying capital gains tax.
- You may rebalance your portfolio or diversify a concentrated position.
- You can make a meaningful difference with your charitable giving.
You do need to have held the stock for more than a year, and your deduction is limited to up to 30% of your AGI, assuming that you’re donating to a public 501(c)(3) charity. Any unused deduction may be carried forward for up to five years.
Create a donor-advised fund (DAF)
If you’re unsure which charities you’d like to support but know that you’d like to make a charitable gift this year, setting up a DAF could be a viable option. You’ll receive a tax deduction in the year you contribute the funds to your DAF, but you can make grants over an indefinite number of years from the DAF to your selected charities.
DAFs can help offset your tax burden in high income years while funding your philanthropic efforts for years to come. Many of our clients find that their DAFs have additional benefits besides tax management, including making it easier to give and involving younger generations in their philanthropic endeavors.
Make a qualified charitable distribution (QCD)
For people age 70½ or older with a traditional individual retirement account (IRA), a QCD is generally a tax-advantageous way to give. QCDs are checks made directly from your IRA to charities. Not only do they fulfill your required minimum distributions (RMDs), but they’re also excluded from your gross income. There are many potential tax benefits as a result.
Currently, an IRA owner may give up to $108,000 annually ($216,000 per married couple) in QCDs.3 Note that QCDs cannot be made to a DAF, so your Corient Wealth Advisor and tax advisor can help you determine whether QCDs are appropriate for your charitable giving situation.
We’re here to support you
The opportunities for charitable giving are many and varied, and each brings its own complexity depending on your particular circumstances. Be sure to engage your Corient Wealth Advisor, as well as any tax and/or legal advisors you may work with, to determine which strategies are best for you.
1 https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/charitable-contribution-deductions
2 https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-releases-tax-inflation-adjustments-for-tax-year-2025
3 https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/give-more-tax-free-eligible-ira-owners-can-donate-up-to-105000-to-charity-in-2024#:~:text=QCDs%20don't%20require%20itemizing,rise%20to%20%24108%2C000%20in%202025.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Laura Godine
Laura is a Partner, Wealth Advisor and Regional Head of Wealth Planning in our Boston office. She is responsible for estate and financial planning for individuals, corporate executives, business owners and families. In this role, Laura works with clients and their advisors to develop and implement estate planning, wealth transfer and charitable planning strategies. Laura applies her expertise in the areas of estate and gift planning, charitable giving, and estate and trust administration to accomplish client goals and objectives, and she advises clients on the integration of their investment, financial and estate plans. Prior to joining the firm, Laura was senior director of Professional Advisor Relations at the Boston Foundation, where she partnered with other trusted advisors to identify philanthropic giving strategies for affluent clients. Previously, Laura practiced as an estate planning attorney in Boston, focusing on strategic analysis and planning of estates for individuals and family groups.
Laura earned her Juris Doctorate from Northeastern University School of Law and is also a graduate of Brandeis University. She holds a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®) designation from the American College of Financial Services and has been awarded the Accredited Estate Planner (AEP®) designation by the National Association of Estate Planners & Counsels (NAEPC). She is also a certified 21/64 trainer, equipped with tools to help families successfully navigate planning across the generations. Laura resides in Newton, Massachusetts, with her husband, Steve, and their little ones, June (human) and Opal (canine).
CONTENT DISCLOSURE
This information is for educational purposes and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied upon for, accounting, legal, tax, insurance, or investment advice. This does not constitute an offer to provide any services, nor a solicitation to purchase securities. The contents are not intended to be advice tailored to any particular person or situation. We believe the information provided is accurate and reliable, but do not warrant it as to completeness or accuracy. This information may include opinions or forecasts, including investment strategies and economic and market conditions; however, there is no guarantee that such opinions or forecasts will prove to be correct, and they also may change without notice. We encourage you to speak with a qualified professional regarding your scenario and the then-current applicable laws and rules.
Different types of investments involve degrees of risk, including the loss of principal. The future performance of any investment or wealth management strategy, including those recommended by us, may not be profitable or suitable or prove successful. Past performance is not indicative of future results. One cannot invest directly in an index or benchmark, and those do not reflect the deduction of various fees that would diminish results. Any index or benchmark performance figures are for comparison purposes only, and client account holdings will not directly correspond to any such data.
Advisory services are offered through Corient Private Wealth LLC and its affiliates, each being a registered investment adviser (“RIA”) regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The advisory services are only offered in jurisdictions where the RIA is appropriately registered. The use of the term “registered” does not imply any particular level of skill or training and does not imply any approval by the SEC. For a complete discussion of the scope of advisory services offered, fees, and other disclosures, please review the RIA’s Disclosure Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A) and Form CRS, available upon request from the RIA and online at https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/. We also encourage you to review the RIA’s Privacy Policy and Code of Ethics, which are available upon request.
Our clients must, in writing, advise us of personal, financial, or investment objective changes and any restrictions desired on our services so that we may re-evaluate any previous recommendations and adjust our advisory services as needed. For current clients, please advise us immediately if you are not receiving monthly account statements from your custodian. We encourage you to compare your custodial statements to any information we provide to you.
4549084 – June 2025
CONTENT DISCLOSURE
This information is for educational purposes and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied upon for, accounting, legal, tax, insurance, or investment advice. This does not constitute an offer to provide any services, nor a solicitation to purchase securities. The contents are not intended to be advice tailored to any particular person or situation. We believe the information provided is accurate and reliable, but do not warrant it as to completeness or accuracy. This information may include opinions or forecasts, including investment strategies and economic and market conditions; however, there is no guarantee that such opinions or forecasts will prove to be correct, and they also may change without notice. We encourage you to speak with a qualified professional regarding your scenario and the then-current applicable laws and rules.
Different types of investments involve degrees of risk, including the loss of principal. The future performance of any investment or wealth management strategy, including those recommended by us, may not be profitable or suitable or prove successful. Past performance is not indicative of future results. One cannot invest directly in an index or benchmark, and those do not reflect the deduction of various fees that would diminish results. Any index or benchmark performance figures are for comparison purposes only, and client account holdings will not directly correspond to any such data.
Advisory services are offered through Corient Private Wealth LLC and its affiliates, each being a registered investment adviser (“RIA”) regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The advisory services are only offered in jurisdictions where the RIA is appropriately registered. The use of the term “registered” does not imply any particular level of skill or training and does not imply any approval by the SEC. For a complete discussion of the scope of advisory services offered, fees, and other disclosures, please review the RIA’s Disclosure Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A) and Form CRS, available upon request from the RIA and online at https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/. We also encourage you to review the RIA’s Privacy Policy and Code of Ethics, which are available upon request.
Our clients must, in writing, advise us of personal, financial, or investment objective changes and any restrictions desired on our services so that we may re-evaluate any previous recommendations and adjust our advisory services as needed. For current clients, please advise us immediately if you are not receiving monthly account statements from your custodian. We encourage you to compare your custodial statements to any information we provide to you.
Family office services, such as tax preparation and bill pay services, are exclusively provided by Corient Family Office Services, LLC (“Family Office Services”), an affiliate of CI Financial Corp. and the RIAs. Family Office Services is not a registered investment adviser or accounting firm and does not offer or provide investment or accounting advice or services.
