Gifts Though Your Will or Living Trust
Gifts Through Life Insurance or Retirement Plan Beneficiary Designations
Retirement Plans
Insurance Policies
Life Income Plans: Gifts That Give You Income for Life
Charitable Gift Annuities
Charitable Remainder Trusts
Gifts of Real Estate
Donating Securities
Less Taxing Ways to Give: Seven Tax Reduction Ways to Make a Gift

Fund the Future of Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County Through Planned Gifts

Planned giving makes your every dollar go farther!  To maximize your charitable giving, as well as fulfill your own financial needs, you can fund the future of the Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County through your estate planning.  Making a gift through your estate is one of the most effective ways to ensure that we can carry on our mission to save animals' lives far into the future.

The Heritage Society
Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County invites you to join several of our supporters who have already acted to ensure the future of our organization by becoming a member of the Heritage Society, an exclusive group of dedicated supporters who have included the League in their estate plans.
We look forward to working with you to design a gift that meets your charitable and financial goals. Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County offers the following gift arrangements:

Gifts Though Your Will or Living Trust
A gift to Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County through your will or living trust is a powerful statement of your support our mission: to be the community’s primary resource for promoting the humane treatment of companion animals by providing education and adoption services. It may also provide a reduction in your taxable estate.
The most common planned gift is a bequest through your will or living trust. You can arrange a gift of a specific amount, a percentage of your estate, or even all or part of the residuary of your estate. If you would like to make such a gift to Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County, your attorney may wish to include language similar to the following:
"I give, devise, and bequeath to Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County, now or formerly in the City of San Antonio, 4804 Fredericksburg Road, in the State of Texas, (dollar amount or __ percent of the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate), to be used for its general purposes."

Gifts Through Life Insurance or Retirement Plan Beneficiary Designations
Naming Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy or retirement plan is a simple and smart way to provide for our organization. It may also benefit your heirs through avoidance of substantial income and estate taxes.
To create a legacy for the Humane Society through a beneficiary designation, you may:

• Name Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County as beneficiary of a retirement fund
• Name Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County as beneficiary of an insurance policy

Retirement Plans
Retirement plan assets are among the best assets to use for charitable gifts. You can create a legacy by naming Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County as beneficiary or contingent beneficiary of an IRA, 401 (k), 403 (b), Keogh account, or other qualified retirement plan. Upon your death, all or a portion of the unused balance in your account is transferred to the League as a charitable gift.
When a retirement account is left to a charity, the organization does not pay the income tax otherwise due if left to a friend or non-spouse family member. To make such a gift requires merely completing a change of beneficiary form, which may be obtained from the plan administrator.

Insurance Policies
If you no longer need their life insurance that was purchased years ago to provide for children or other family members, please consider donating the policy to the Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County. You may claim a charitable deduction for approximately the policy's cash surrender value, and the proceeds are completely removed from your estate
Life insurance may also be used to create a legacy by naming Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County as beneficiary or contingent beneficiary of the policy. This requires that you complete a change of beneficiary form with the insurance company.  If you name the Humane Society as beneficiary, you can change your mind at any time by updating the change of beneficiary form.

Life Income Plans: Gifts That Give You Income for Life
Life income plans allow you to support the League and, in return, receive income for the rest of your life.  Life income plans may also provide significant income tax savings and favorable capital gains tax treatment on gifts of appreciated property.
Our staff works with donors and their advisors on many special ways of giving. A life income gift is particularly suitable if you want:

• payments for the rest of your life
• an income tax deduction, and
• a reduction in capital gains tax.

Charitable Gift Annuities
A charitable gift annuity is a special giving arrangement in which, in return for a gift of at least $5,000 (or $10,000 for two annuitants), the Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County provides guaranteed, fixed payments to you and/or another person for the rest of your lives. The rate of your payments is based on your age when the gift is made and will not change. A portion of your annuity payments may be tax-free, depending on the specifics of the gift. A charitable gift annuity also entitles you to partial income tax charitable deduction and may provide capital gains and estate tax benefits. After your lifetime, the remainder of your gift will support the work of Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County.

Charitable Remainder Trusts
To set up a trust that will ultimately benefit Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County, while providing you with continuing income, you would make an irrevocable gift of $100,000 or more to establish a distinct trust fund in your name. All donors qualify for an income tax charitable deduction. If you make your gift with appreciated securities, you avoid the capital gains tax on long-term appreciation. With a charitable remainder unitrust, your payment rate is fixed, but the amount fluctuates based on the value of the trust each year. With a charitable remainder annuity trust, your payment amount is fixed and does not fluctuate through time. In both trusts, the income is taxed as ordinary income to you.  But most importantly, you have established a legacy for Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County.

Gifts of Real Estate
A residence, a vacation home, acreage (even a farm) or an unimproved parcel of land may have appreciated so significantly in value that its sale by you would generate a substantial income tax burden. By making a gift of a full or partial interest in real estate to the Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County, you will avoid tax on the long-term capital gain and generate an income tax charitable deduction for the full fair market value of the property. It is also possible to make a gift of your primary residence or second home while retaining an exclusive life estate so that you (and your spouse) can continue to use it for the rest of your lives while obtaining significant tax and estate planning benefits.

Contact Us:
If you would like more information, or would like to let us know that you have already included Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County in your estate plans, please contact Bryan Chase, at 210-226-7461, Ext. 124, or by email to bchase@humanesocietyspca.org.  We look forward to speaking with you!

Legal Information
We are a 501-c-3, not-for-profit organization as determined by the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service. Our federal tax id number is 74-6024105.

Donating Securities

Donating appreciated securities, such as stock or mutual funds, to the Humane Society SPCA or Bexar County is a tax-wise approach to provide for homeless animals.

Advantages of Donating Stocks and Mutual Funds
Many donors choose to make gifts to Humane Society SPCA or Bexar County using long-term appreciated stocks and mutual funds due to the attractive tax advantages associated with such gifts.

The benefits available to you when making a contribution of stock or mutual funds may include:

• Avoiding federal and state tax on the capital gain.
• Receiving an income tax deduction (federal and most states) for the full market value of your gift if you itemize deductions on your tax return and have held the assets one year or longer.
• Making a larger gift at a lower original cost to you.

Before you make a gift of appreciated securities, however, you should consult your financial planner or tax advisor to determine how the potential tax advantages described here apply to your specific situation.

Here's an example of how it works
Say, for example, you purchased stock that cost you $1,500 several years ago, that is now worth $5,000, and that if sold would result in a capital gain of $3,500. If you donate the stock, the Tax Code permits Humane Society SPCA or Bexar County (as a "Section 501(c)(3)" charitable institution) to sell the stock without having to recognize the capital gain.

If you donate the stock directly to Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County, you will avoid paying federal capital gains tax of $525 ($3,500 x 15% = $525). And let's assume you live in one of the states that also taxes capital gains. Assuming a 5% state capital gains tax rate*, you would avoid an additional $175 ($3,500 x 5% = $175) in taxes. This results in a total capital gains tax savings of $700.
Let's further assume you fall in the 28% federal income tax bracket. By itemizing your deductions, you are eligible to take a $5,000 charitable income tax deduction that saves you an additional $1,400 ($5,000 x 28% = $1,400) of federal income tax for the tax year you made the gift. If your state allows you to deduct charitable gifts, you can also save on your state income taxes. Assuming a 5% state income tax rate, this results in an additional savings of $250 ($5,000 x 5% = $250) for you.
In this hypothetical example, by making a stock or mutual fund donation, you are able to make a $5,000 gift that generates a total tax savings of $2,350. A direct contribution of $5,000 in cash would generate an income tax saving of $1,650. And if you were to sell the securities first and then donate what's left after paying taxes, you would only be able to donate $4,300 ($5000 less $525 + $175), which would generate income tax savings of $1,419 ($1,204 + $215). Donating long-term appreciated securities is clearly the tax-efficient way.

Try  this link to see how your taxes may be affected by making a gift of stock rather than cash.

Less Taxing Ways to Give

Seven Tax Reduction Ways to Make a Gift
You may be like thousands of other individuals who are reviewing their financial and estate plans to ensure your family's goals are being met. Supporting Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County by making a planned gift can be an effective way to help hundreds of abandoned dogs and cats , while receiving financial benefits and/or saving taxes in 2006 and beyond.

The most common types of planned gifts are:

1. Bequests: Through your Will or Living Trust you can gift to Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County a fixed amount or a percentage of your estate.
   
   
2. The Pension Protection Act of 2006: If you are age 70 ½ or older, you can make an outright gift to Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County by transferring funds directly from your individual retirement account (IRA) without paying federal income taxes on the distribution. The gift must be made by December 31, 2007, and will count towards your minimum required distribution. Such a gift can be made up to $100,000.
   
   
3. Charitable Gift Annuities: A Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County charitable gift annuity will provide an immediate or deferred fixed-income stream for one or two lives. This is an excellent way to increase retirement income or help support aging parents. Payout rates are based on age, and a portion of your payment will be tax-free. The donor will also receive a charitable income tax deduction in the year of the gift.
   
   
4. Appreciated Assets: Donate stocks, bonds, or real estate to fund a planned gift, and avoid substantial capital gains taxes on these assets.
   
   
5. Paid-Up Life Insurance Policies: When your family responsibilities decrease and your policies are no longer critical to your family's well-being, use them to support Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County’s work.
   
   
6. Retirement Plans: Tax-deferred IRA AND 401K plans may be extremely vulnerable to high income and estate taxes. Naming Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County as a beneficiary will reduce these taxes and allow you to leave other assets to heirs.
   
   
7. Trusts: A charitable lead trust will generate funding for Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County until the time comes to transfer the remainder of the fund to your heirs. In the meantime, taxes cam be minimized. A charitable remainder trust will provide lifetime income to you or your heirs, along with some tax benefits. When the income payout period ends, the remainder of the trust flows to Humane Society SPCA of Bexar County.

For more information about these types of gifts or other giving opportunities, please call us at (210) 226-7461, Ext. 124 or e-mail us at bchase@humanesocietyspca.org.