Giving Appreciated Stock or Mutual Funds

Donating stock may be a smarter approach. You may donate the stock directly to church, or you may sell the stock and donate the proceeds. It all depends on whether the stock has increased or decreased in value and how long you have owned the stock.

If you own stock in a publicly-traded company that has appreciated in value, you can contribute shares of the stock to First Presbyterian Church of Orlando without selling it. Under Federal tax law, if you have held the stock for at least a year, you may be entitled to deduct the full value of the stock and never have to pay tax on the gain. This can be much more advantageous than selling the stock (which would create taxable gain) and donating the proceeds from the sale.

You can donate appreciated securities – stock, mutual funds, bonds, and other ‘property’ – and oftentimes receive a greater tax benefit than you would receive as compared to selling the appreciated securities and then donating cash.

Make sure to check with a tax professional before initiating any transfer of securities. 

Please contact Tom Levesque, Director of Finance at 321.344.1587, if you are considering this kind of gift so that we can understand how you would like this gift to be utilized and send you a tax receipt in a timely manner. FPCO continues to use the same company to receive all stock gifts (Fidelity Investments, DTC# 0226).