Charitable gifts of appreciated stock can be a tax efficient way to make your charitable gifts. The value on the date of the gift is deductible if you itemize your deductions subject to limitations. If held for more than one year, the appreciation is not taxed. The tax benefit reduces the cost of making the contribution.
Many of the investment firms have set time limits on making year-end charitable gifts of securities (stocks, funds, bonds). December 18th is a common deadline. Allow enough time to complete the forms required by your investment firm and to get a signature guarantee if required. Your bank or financial firm can provide the appropriate guarantee. Contact the charitable organization to get the name of their custodian, the title of their account, their DTC number and account number.
The transfer request should include the name of the security, the ticker symbol and number of shares to be transferred.
Let the charity know what securities are being transferred and ask them to notify you when they are received. You will need an acknowledgement from the charity to deduct the contribution.

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