Charitable Income Tax Deductions: The Rockefeller Edition
March 29, 2017
Authored by: Stephanie Moll
Billionaire David Rockefeller passed away this week at the age of 101. According to Forbes magazine, during his lifetime, the well-known philanthropist gave away nearly $2 billion.
In light of this newsworthy charitable donation, we thought now would be a good time to remind everyone of some of the basic income tax deductions available for gifts to charities.
Section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) governs income tax deductions for charitable contributions. In the case of an individual making a cash gift to a Section 501(c)(3) organization classified as a “public charity” (such as churches, schools, hospitals, and governmental units), the gift is deductible for federal income tax purposes so long as the aggregate gifts do not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income (“AGI”) for the taxable year.
In the case of a contribution of capital gain property to a public charity, a taxpayer can only deduct