Charitable Gift Annuity

An annuitant is a person who is the income beneficiary of a gift annuity, deferred gift annuity, flexible gift annuity, or commuted payment gift annuity.

The American Council on Gift Annuities (ACGA) is a national organization of charities that promotes charitable gift annuities. Among its many functions, it is a clearinghouse for information on gift annuities, sponsors the Conference on Gift Annuities every three years, and issues tables of suggested maximum annuity rates that member charities should offer to their donors.

A person's actuarial age for computing a charitable deduction and choosing an ACGA suggested gift annuity rate is his or her age on the birthday that is closest to the date of gift.

Conventional wisdom says that it is always best to use the highest available discount rate when calculating a life income gift deduction since this maximizes the donor's deduction. Using the highest discount rate also minimizes the tax-free portion of a gift annuity's payments.

A portion of each annuity payment is excluded from income as a return of principal; the rest of the annuity payment is taxed as ordinary income.(1)  If your projection runs beyond the life expectancy of the annuitant(s), previously tax-free income is taxed as ordinary income.  If the donor qualifies to report the gain that results from the establishment of the annuity over the donor's lifetime, part of the excludable portion will be taxed as capital gain until all of the gain has been reported.(2)  Capital gains tax is assessed at the lesser of the rate you enter for the bene

We've been getting a lot of client calls asking us what to do when a deferred gift annuity they want to propose to a donor doesn't pass the 10% remainder value test. Before we answer this question, let's first explore why recently this issue has been arising with greater frequency than we're used to.

In this last of three articles on the gift annuity, we will discuss the taxation of gift annuity payments. Unlike remainder trusts, the taxation of gift annuity payments is determined at the time the annuity is established. This taxation is unaffected by the actual investment performance of the donated assets. Annuities funded with cash make payments that are considered partially tax-free return of principal and partially ordinary income. Donors who fund an annuity with appreciated property must also report a certain amount of capital gain income.

The calculation of the deferred annuity payout and the charitable income tax deduction.

In this second of a three part series on gift annuity deductions and taxation, we examine the calculation of the deferred annuity payout and the charitable income tax deduction.

The bread and butter of planned giving programs for most non-profits is the charitable gift annuity (CGA). The CGA is easy to establish, simple to administer, and leaves a generous gift to charity. This article is the first in a three part series on CGA deductions and taxation.

In this article, we will examine the calculation of the CGA charitable income tax deduction and the variables that affect this calculation. We will discuss how you can maximize your donor's income tax deduction in a low discount rate environment.

In response to widespread concern regarding the current financial atmosphere, many of our clients are expressing anxiety specifically about their gift annuity programs. Accordingly, we offer the following thoughts regarding gift annuity rates, the reserves backing your annuities, the investment of your gift annuity fund, and additional considerations regarding offering gift annuities in the current environment.