From the PG Calc Blog: 2020 is Almost Over (Phew!) and the CARES Act is Expiring

The CARES Act and 2020 Charitable Tax Benefits Legislation known as the CARES Act introduced significant incentives to stimulate charitable giving in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of those important tax incentives expire on December 31, 2020. Your donors will need to act quickly to take advantage of these tax-smart ways of giving before they are gone. Listed below are the most significant provisions applicable to charitable giving included in the CARES Act.

Read the full blog post.

IRS Announces Indexed Tax Items for 2021

The IRS has announced the values for 2021 of various tax items that are indexed annually for inflation. In general, values have been adjusted upward about 1.0%. Of particular interest to gift planners, the unified gift and estate tax exemption amount will be $11,700,000 ($23,400,000 per couple) in 2021, an increase from $11,580,000 ($23,160,000 per couple). The annual gift tax exclusion, on the other hand, will remain $15,000 per person. Also of interest, the standard deduction will increase to $25,100 for married couples filing jointly and to $12,550 for single filers, an increase of $300 and $150, respectively. See Revenue Procedure 2020-45 for complete details, including all federal income tax schedules for 2021.

PG Calc 2021 Webinar Schedule and Registration Now Available

We are very excited about the monthly planned giving webinar series we have put together for you for 2021. We hope you will join us for presentations by national leaders Professor Russell James, Renee Kurdzos, Karen Osborne, and Stacy Sulman, as well as by PG Calc’s in-house experts. You can sign up for your choice of monthly webinars or register for all twelve for the price of nine. Click below to learn more about each session.

Draft 1040 Instructions Confirm $300 Deduction Limit for Married Couples

The CARES Act, which was signed into law in late March, made available to non-itemizers an “above-the-line” adjustment to income for up to $300 in cash donations made to public charities in 2020. It was unclear, initially, whether the limit on the adjustment doubles to $600 for married couples who file jointly. In late April, analysis of the Act released by The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) stated in a footnote that the $300 deduction is per "tax-filing unit," meaning that the $300 limit also applies to a married couple filing jointly (see p. 22, footnote 76 in the report). It now appears that the IRS accepts the JCT interpretation. An October 23, 2020 draft of the IRS instructions for completing Form 1040 provides the following guidance for completing Line 10b on the form: "If you don't itemize deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040), you (or you and your spouse if filing jointly) can take a charitable deduction of up to $300 for cash contributions made in 2020 to organizations that are religious, charitable, educational, scientific, or literary in purpose."

2020 Electronic CGA Manual Released

On November 6, we sent an email to all subscribers to the Charitable Gift Annuities: The Complete Resource Manual with instructions on how to download the 2020 update of the electronic manual. As noted in last month's eRate, we sent the electronic version to all our electronic and print subscribers this year to make sure all subscribers have access to their updated manual. Print updates will be mailed to print subscribers within the next couple of weeks. You can learn more about the CGA Manual or order your own copy on our website.

Valuation Rate for Gifts to Young PIFs Will Remain 2.2% Again in 2021

The valuation rate used to compute the charitable deduction for gifts made to pooled income funds that are less than three taxable years old will be 2.2% again in 2021. As a result, a gift given to a young pooled income fund will earn the same charitable deduction in 2021 as it did in 2020 and 2019. To learn more about PIF valuation rates, click the button below.

GiftWrap update: SSDI (Social Security Death Index) Screening Module

PG Calc knows that keeping track of your life income beneficiaries, and also your donors who have left your charity in their wills, is an important part of stewardship and your fiduciary duties. With this in mind, for clients of this module, we run all your names through third party databases, such as the Social Security Death Index (SSDI), every day to ensure that you can promptly reach out to the families of any deceased donors/beneficiaries. Furthermore, we can research addresses, including obtaining contact information for relatives and neighbors, to aid you in finding your missing donors/beneficiaries. Learn more about GiftWrap and the SSDI Death Screening Module.

Holy Cross Reports that PGM Anywhere is Intuitive and Easy to Use

Katherine McKay, Director of Gift Planning at College of the Holy Cross, recently let PG Calc know how much she is appreciating PGM Anywhere:

"Kudos to PG Calc! I was reluctant to abandon my trusty Planned Giving Manager desktop version but PGM Anywhere is intuitive and easy-to-use. This software overhaul takes the guesswork out creating proposals by walking you step-by-step through the process. Congrats to the PG Calc team for streamlining the process for gift planning illustrations."

Founded in 1843 by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in Worcester, Massachusetts, Holy Cross is a highly selective, four-year, undergraduate, liberal arts institution.

Learn more about College of the Holy Cross.
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