06 Dec The Season of Giving and Ways to Benefit from Your Generosity
As we dive into the Christmas Season, the season of giving, we reflect on the great work of our Church Parishes, schools and diocese throughout the year. Generosity is a word that continues to describe the people of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, and the season of generosity is a prime time to consider supporting the people and causes that mean the most to you, the causes you love.
There are a variety of ways to benefit from your generosity:
1. Make an immediate impact. Cash is an easy way to give each year. You can receive an income tax charitable deduction for the full value of the gift. A gift of cash to the cause you love such as the diocese through the Annual Bishop’s Appeal helps to educate our diocesan seminarians each year.
2. Save taxes on appreciated stock. When you donate stocks through the Catholic Foundation for your church parish, school or diocese that are worth more than what you originally paid for them, you can claim deductions for their full fair market value and eliminate any tax on the appreciation.
3. Earn income from your gift. Gifts such as a charitable remainder trust or a charitable gift annuity provide you, or a beneficiary of your choice, with payments for life or a period of years, and your church parish, school or diocese with support thereafter.
4. Put an insurance policy to good use. An old policy you no longer need can make a big impact on our work. To qualify as a deductible gift, the Catholic Foundation must become the policy owner. For most types of insurance policies, your tax deduction is usually the cost basis or the fair market value of the policy—whichever is less. It is more common for policies to still require premiums to be paid. When you donate these, the future premiums are tax-deductible as you pay them.