Gifts of Stock and Securities
If you hold stock that has gone up in value, giving the shares is usually better for you than selling them and giving the cash.
Why
When you sell appreciated stock you have held for more than a year, you owe capital gains tax on the increase, and you give away what is left.
When you give the shares directly to a public charity instead, two things generally happen. You do not realize the capital gain, so no capital gains tax is due on it. And you may deduct the fair market value of the shares on the day of the gift, not what you originally paid, subject to the limits below.
The charity receives the full value either way. The difference is what the tax authorities receive.
This works for stock held longer than one year. Shares held for a year or less are treated differently and the deduction is generally limited to what you paid for them.
The limits, as they stand for 2026
- Gifts of appreciated securities to a public charity are generally deductible up to 30 percent of your adjusted gross income in the year of the gift.
- Cash gifts are generally deductible up to 60 percent of AGI.
- Amounts above the limit can generally be carried forward for up to five years.
- From the 2026 tax year, itemizers may deduct only the portion of total charitable contributions above 0.5 percent of AGI.
- From the 2026 tax year, taxpayers in the top bracket have the value of itemized charitable deductions limited to the equivalent of a 35 percent rate.
Figures current as at September 2026. Tax rules change and this page may not. Check with your advisor.
How to transfer shares to us
Give these instructions to your broker.
- Receiving firm: LPL Financial
- DTC number: 0075
- Account name: Saola Foundation
- Account number: 31629432
- Federal Tax ID (EIN): 82-3731270
Please tell us the transfer is coming
This matters more than it sounds. Shares often arrive in our account with no donor name attached, because the transfer carries the broker’s details and not yours. If you do not tell us, we may not be able to identify you, thank you, or send you a correct acknowledgment for your tax records.
Email info@saolafoundation.org with your name, the security, the number of shares, and the approximate transfer date.
Mutual funds, bonds and other holdings
Mutual fund transfers take longer than stock, sometimes several weeks, so start early if the timing matters for your tax year. For bonds, restricted stock, privately held shares or anything unusual, contact us before instructing your broker.
Cryptocurrency
We do not currently accept gifts of cryptocurrency directly. If you hold appreciated crypto and want to give it, a donor advised fund is generally the simplest route.
Giving through a donor advised fund
Not tax advice
This page is general information, not tax or investment advice. Please talk to your own tax advisor before making a gift of securities.