If you've owned your home or other real estate for a long time, no doubt it has increased in value significantly. What happens if you sell the property?

First, the sale is subject to capital gains tax on the property's appreciation. If the property has been your main home for at least 2 of the past 5 years, you can exclude up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 for married couples). However, this opportunity to avoid capital gains tax doesn't apply if the property is a vacation home, land or any real estate other than your primary residence. Plus, there's the cost of marketing and selling real estate, which also takes time and effort, even if you use professional assistance.

Before you sell real estate, consider a new option. If you'd like to help fulfill our mission, your property opens the door to a unique giving opportunity: Donate the property to the Amputee Coalition of America. You can give the property outright, place it in trust or give it via will. All of these methods will enable you to enjoy personal financial benefits while supporting our work in a meaningful way.

 

Tax Benefits of an Outright Gift

When you make an outright gift of real property held for more than 1 year, you obtain an income tax charitable deduction equal to the property's full fair market value. This deduction lets you reduce the cost of making the gift and frees cash that otherwise would have been used to pay taxes.

By donating the property to us, you also avoid capital gains tax on the property's appreciation. Furthermore, the transfer isn't subject to the gift tax, and the gift reduces your taxable estate.

 

Turn Your Home Into a Charitable Gift That Also Benefits You

You can use your home to create income, save taxes, reduce probate costs for your estate and serve a charitable purpose.

Give your unoccupied home to a charitable remainder unitrust with net income with make-up provisions. This trust makes lifetime payments to you, after which time it distributes the remaining assets to a charity to support its mission. If you name the Amputee Coalition of America as the recipient of the remainder interest, you will:

• Make a significant gift that we can access after your lifetime
• Avoid up-front capital gains tax on the increase in the property's value since you bought it
• Receive an immediate income tax deduction for the value of the remainder interest
• Receive an income from the trust for the rest of your life
• Reduce probate costs by eliminating the property from your probate estate
• Relieve yourself of selling the property or maintaining it and paying property taxes.

This special type of unitrust can be invested to produce income later in retirement or now, if you want payments to begin soon.

In addition to the income, you also receive an income tax deduction based on what the charitable organization will receive someday. This amount depends on the age of the income beneficiary and the amount of the selected income, but often it is approximately 30 to 40 percent of the gift's value.

You should consult with your financial planner and attorney for details on your specific circumstances.