When you make a gift of appreciated securities, you receive an income tax charitable deduction for their full fair market value and pay no capital gains tax. Thus, the after-tax cost of giving securities is less than making an equivalent gift of cash. If you wish to main-tain the composition of your portfolio, use the cash you would have donated to purchase the same securities in the open market. The newly acquired shares will then carry as their cost basis the current market value.

If you hold securities that have declined in value, it is generally advisable to sell them and then donate the cash proceeds to NARSAD. In this way, you can establish a tax loss and claim an income tax charitable deduction for the cash gift.

An alternative to outright gifts of securities is to cre-ate a life income plan with these assets. Life income plans include charitable remainder trusts, pooled income funds, and charitable gift annuities, and may be funded with cash, securities, or other assets. All of these plans can provide you and/or a loved one with lifetime income, after which time the plan's assets are distributed to NARSAD for a purpose of your choos-ing. Moreover, you receive the following benefits: increased spendable income; an immediate income tax charitable deduction; a reduction in or complete elimination of capital gains tax if appreciated securi-ties are used to fund the gift; and, removal of the donated assets from your taxable estate.

Please call or write, or have your attorney contact NARSAD directly. We look forward to hearing from you.

NARSAD
60 Cutter Mill Road, Suite 404
Great Neck, NY 11021
Attention: Chief Finance Officer
Email: linnamorato@narsad.org
(800) 829-8289 or (516) 829-0091

You should consult your attorney about the applicability of your own situation to the legal principles stated here.