Planned Giving

List of 5 items.

• Remember RSGC in Your Will

  This donation is of no cost to you now, and often, more than would be possible during your lifetime. It will also help reduce taxes on your estate. Here’s some sample wording for your will.

   

  For a specific sum:

   

  “My Executor shall pay or transfer to St. George’s College Foundation, currently located at 120 Howland Avenue, Toronto, ON M5R 3B5, the sum of $[amount] for its general purposes.”

   

  For a percentage of your estate:

   

  “My Executor shall pay or transfer to St. George’s College Foundation, currently located at 120 Howland Avenue, Toronto, ON M5R 3B5, [amount] per cent of the rest, residue and remainder of my estate for its general purposes.”

• Gifts of Securities

  If you own stocks, bonds or mutual funds, you are happy when their investments increase. Unfortunately, when you convert your investment to cash, the capital gain is taxable. By directly donating your publicly listed securities to Royal St. George’s College, you will not pay capital gains tax on their increase in value. 

   

  Benefits to Charity

   

  • Listed securities can be sold and converted to cash.

  • The charity, being tax-exempt, is not taxed on the capital gain.

   

  Benefits to Donor

   

  • Donation receipt for fair market value of the securities.

   

  • The donor is taxed on none of the gain. If the securities were sold by the donor, 50 percent of the gain would be taxable.

   

  EXAMPLE (COMPARISON OF GIFT AND SALE):

   

  Daniel contributes to a public charity listed stock having a fair market value of $10,000 and a cost base of $2,000. His net income is $160,000 per year, and his other charitable gifts exceed $200.

   

  Capital gain $8,000

  Taxable gain - 0 -

  Tax on gain - 0 -

  Donation receipt 10,000

   

  Credit

  (44% combined rate) 4,400

   

  If stock were sold rather than contributed:

   

  Sales proceeds $10,000

  Capital gain 8,000

  Taxable gain (50% x $8,000) 4,000

  Tax on gain (43.75% x $4,000) - 1,750

   

  Net after-tax proceeds

  ($10,000 – 1,750) $8,250

   

  Net cost of donating stock

  compared to selling it

  $8,250 – 4,400 = $3,850

   

  If Daniel would otherwise sell the stock, it costs him $3,840 to make a $10,000 gift. In other words, the cost of the gift is only 38.5 percent of the stock’s value.
  
  Securities Form

• Gifts of Life Insurance

  You can designate RSGC as a beneficiary or owner of a new or existing policy, allowing you to make a large donation at a relatively low cost. 

   

  1. Transfer ownership of a paid-up policy (no additional premiums required to keep the policy in force).

  Value to the charity

   

  A gift of a paid-up policy is equivalent to an outright gift of cash, for the charity can, if it chooses, immediately surrender the policy for cash. More likely, it will retain the policy until the insured individual dies and then collect the death benefit. Meanwhile, the cash surrender value will likely continue to grow.

   

  Tax benefits

   

  The donor is entitled to a donation receipt for the value of the policy.

   

  1. Transfer ownership of an existing policy on which premiums are still owing. 

  Value to the charity

   

  If the policy is whole life and has been in force for two or more years, it will likely have some cash value which is accessible to the charity. Likewise, a universal life insurance policy may have cash value. Assuming the donor continues to pay the premiums, the cash value will increase each year, and the charity will eventually collect the death benefit if it retains the policy.

   

  Tax benefits

   

  The donor is entitled to a donation receipt for the value of the policy when the policy is transferred and also for subsequent premium payments. A donation receipt may be issued whether the donor makes a contribution to the charity, which uses it to pay the premium, or the donor pays the premium directly to the insurance company. If the donor chooses to do the latter, the charity should require evidence of the premium payment before issuing a receipt.

   

  1. Purchase a new policy, initially naming the charity as owner 

  Value to the charity

   

  Although the policy has no initial cash value, whole life and universal life policies will accumulate cash value and pay a death benefit if the insured dies while the policy is in force.

   

  Tax benefits

   

  The donor is entitled to a donation receipt for premiums paid to the insurance company after ownership has been transferred to the charity and, also, for any contributions made to the charity to cover the premiums. The donor should either name the charity as owner on the application or pay the minimum premium required before transferring ownership.

• Gifts of RRSP/RRIFs

  In all provinces other than Quebec, it is possible to name a charity as beneficiary of all or some of the funds remaining in an RRSP or RRIF at the death of the owner. The designated funds would be paid directly to the charity, and they would not be governed by the will and subject to probate.

   

  Since gifts made in the year of death are now creditable up to 100 per cent of net income on the terminal return, the credit will always offset the tax on the RRSP or RRIF distributions. Thus, leftover funds can be given to charity at no net cost.

   

  Benefits to Charity

   

  • The distribution can be used immediately.
  • The distribution may be quite large, especially if the owner has been withdrawing only the minimum required amount.

   

  Benefits to Donor

   

  • The donor retains full access to retirement funds during life.
  • Because the tax credit offsets the tax on the distribution, the entire amount passes to charity tax free.
  • The gift is very simple to arrange.

   

  EXAMPLE:

   

  Javier G, a single man and resident of Saskatchewan, dies at age 75, having named a charity as beneficiary of his RRIF, which holds $100,000 of assets.
  
  (1) The federal tax and credit rates are assumed to be 33%, and the provincial tax and credit rates are assumed to be 15%.

    

  Tax on the RRIF proceeds, assuming a 48% combined tax rate               $48,000 (1)

   

  Tax credit                                                                                                    $48,000 (1)

   

  Net tax                                                                                                             - 0 -

   

   

• Gift In-Kind

  For all in-kind gifts – real estate, securities, and tangible property – the charitable donation receipt must show the fair market value of the property contributed to the charity.

  
  The tax treatment and availability of tax benefits will depend in a large part on the nature of the property contributed. The gift in- kind could be a gift of capital property, depreciable property, personal-use property, inventory, etc. Careful attention should be paid to the type of property held by the donor when determining the most appropriate gift structure.

   

  EXAMPLE:

   

  Suppose that Janice, instead of writing a cheque for $300,000, gives undeveloped real estate having an appraised fair market value of $300,000, and an adjusted cost base of $100,000. The maximum contribution she can claim in the year of the gift would be determined as follows:

   

  Net income from other sources                                  $100,000

   

  Taxable gain in the contributed property

  50% ($300,000 – $100,000)                                        $100,000

  Total net income                                                          $200,000

   

  Maximum contribution creditable:

  $200,000 x 75%                                                          $150,000

   

  $100,000 x 25%                                                             $25,000

  $175,000

   

  The remaining $125,000 of the donation receipt could be carried forward, and used over the next two years, assuming her net income from other sources remains at $100,000.