b'18THEFORUMPITTSBURGH FOUNDATIONAccording to Pittsburgh Foundationdonors can deduct the full market value and lock Executive Vice President Yvonne Maher,in those charitable deductions for five years.The Buffett piece is very telling. It only takesGreg Allison, CPA, JD, CFP,who is a share-looking back to December of last year, whenholder at Schneider Downs & Co., explains.the market dipped dramatically, to see thatIf you bought a stock for $10 that is now people didnt get enough bang for their year-endworth $30 and you donate the stock now, you get charitable buck. a charitable deduction of $30, subject to certain Donors who wait to give may miss theincome limitations. But if you wait until the opportunity for appreciation. end of the year, and the stocks value goes down Why not just bake in the market gainsto $20, then your deduction would be based on today by donating appreciated securitiesthat lower value, says Allison.now? If the stock market declines as we saw inAllison also points out that, if you donate a December 2018, you will secure the fair marketstock but still like it as an investment, you can value as a charitable deduction. If you think thebuy it again to reset your basis at a higher value. market still has some growth and you like theIf the stock appreciates again, this will reduce stock, donors could buy that same stock backyour future capital gains tax when the invest-through cash and step up the basis, Maher says. ment is ultimately sold. If the stock happens to The strategy makes good sense for investorsdecrease in value, it may present tax leveraging who are charitably inclined and for their advisors. opportunities. For example, if you buy it at $30 Referring clients now to The Pittsburghand the stocks value declines to $20, Allison says, Foundation to donate appreciated stocks andyou could harvest the loss by selling the stock mutual funds while the market is up is a triplefor $20 and then use the $10 capital loss to offset win, says Peter M. Strope, CAP,CFP,managingother gains. director of Strope Financial Group at UBS.The Foundation has also been seeing My clients achieve their charitable goals. Theydonors giving year-round instead of waiting minimize the risk of potential market volatilityuntil year-end.while maximizing tax efficiencies, and theyPeople are being opportunistic in taking benefit charities in need. the appreciation because they are concerned The give early strategy also has benefitsabout seeing how far south the markets value in capital gains. If a stock has increased inwent last December, Maher says.value since the time it was purchased, then theMore Bank for your Bunch. stockholder pays capital gains on the increasedThis trend toward year-round giving may be value. But if the stocks value declines, thendue to the 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which A look at the8,400NASDAQ Composite index over the last8,20012 months (Nov.8,0002018Sept. 2019) shows how waiting7,800until the end of the year to donate7,600securities can reduce7,400your charitable impact (and tax7,200benefits). 7,0006,8006,6006,4006,2006,000NOV 2018 JAN 2019 MAR 2019 MAY 2019 JUL 2019 SEP 2019'