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Donating Appreciated Bitcoin, Stocks and other Assets

By Paul J. Carroll, CFP®March 3, 2021December 1st, 2023Videos

Bitcoin’s above $50,000, the S&P 500 is above $3,800. There’s a lot of hurting out there with COVID. Is there a way that you can give back and also skip the taxes on some of these outrageous capital gains?

So with all that’s going on with COVID out there right now, there’s a lot of pain and suffering, and a lot of people are very generous. They’re giving back. Yet it’s amazing how many people are giving cash while sitting on significant capital gains. Especially those of you who have Bitcoin at $50,000. I don’t know when that party is going to end, but if you want to do a lot of good with that stock – with that coin, I should say – you can donate appreciated assets, not pay the capital gains on those assets and still deduct the value of the appreciated assets on your tax return.

So this is a win-win from every direction. If you’ve got an asset that you feel, “I need a rebalance, I need less of this” – you don’t want to pay the tax and you also want to give a little, then donating appreciated assets, are the way to do it. But what if you don’t know where to give? It’s not that you don’t want to. You just really, haven’t had time to think through “where’s the greatest need?” Well there’s a way to deal with that, too. And that’s called a Donor-Advised Fund. By using a Donor-Advised Fund, you can give the appreciated asset to the Donor-Advised Fund. Different DAFs – Donor-Advised Funds – will accept different assets, though if it’s Bitcoin, we may have to go through a couple of hoops. But S&P 500, stock – individual stock: Apple, Tesla, all of that stuff. Great for gifting to a Donor-Advised Fund. Immediately you get the tax deduction. Immediately you diversify out. And, you get to skip the capital gains. So our clients, we work through this with them on a regular basis. If you need any help, feel free to call us. We wish you the best of investing success. Thank you.

Sources:

4 Reasons to Donate Stock to Charity – Fidelity Charitable

SECURE Act Summary – Charles Schwab

Founder & CEO at Avion Wealth

Paul is the founder and CEO of Avion Wealth, LLC. He leads a team of wealth managers in building and executing financial plans for high net worth individuals and families. Contact Avion Wealth to speak with a financial advisor.