Giving season has arrived. There has been a noticeable uptick in phone calls to East Texas Communities Foundation (ETCF) and several area professional advisors have pulled me aside at recent local events to tell me they are working with clients on end-of-year giving issues and will be calling soon. It is another reminder that deadlines serve as important calls-to-action, and the most common charitable giving deadline is December 31st. I know I sound like a broken record sometimes, repeating charitable reminders, but donors should not confuse retirement contribution deadlines and charitable giving deadlines. The federal tax code allows many individuals to make tax-deductible contributions to their retirement accounts up to their tax filing deadline of April 15, 2026, but there is no such leeway with charitable gifts. For calendar year tax filers, the deadline for making charitable gifts that you want to include in your 2025 tax return is December 31, 2025.
There are several ways to meet the December 31 charitable giving deadline. For donors who give to charities methodically and responsively throughout the year, the end of the year is not a high-pressure deadline because you have been making gifts as you go. Good for you! You probably already have most of your Christmas presents bought and wrapped too, and the rest of us are in awe of your planning. Many donors in this category give in response and support of major fundraising events, and as we draw closer to the holidays, those events are winding down for the year.
There is another group of donors who are trying to plan sizeable gifts of complex assets such as real estate, business interests or tangible personal property. The window of opportunity for making those types of gifts in 2025 is quickly closing. Those types of gifts often require certified appraisals and preparation of important legal transfer documents, which require assistance from professionals who need adequate lead time to provide their services. I’m not saying it’s too late to make a gift of a complex asset, but if you are thinking about it, you must act quickly to schedule the professional services you will need to complete the gift. Gifts of complex assets also usually require the assistance of a good CPA to run the numbers, verify compliance with applicable tax laws, and make sure the gift is structured properly to meet your objectives.
There is another group of donors who are considering gifts of less-complex, but very tax-efficient appreciated assets such as publicly traded securities. These gifts can usually be executed in one or two days, but the stock markets must be open, so these donors need to watch the calendar for days when the market is closed or closing early during the holidays. For 2025 the New York Stock Exchange is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 27th and Christmas Day, Thursday, December 25th. In addition, the NYSE closes at 1:00 ET/12:00 CT on Friday November 28th and Wednesday, December 24th. More importantly, gifts of publicly traded securities usually benefit from a meaningful visit with your investment advisor, and probably your CPA, to make sure your contribution will help you maximize your charitable gift and minimize taxes.
Your investment advisor, trust officer, or accountant can help you consider the most efficient assets to use to meet your charitable objectives. Often the best asset to contribute is appreciated stocks, but retirement assets such as IRAs can also be used in many situations to minimize taxes and support the causes that are important to you. A donor-advised fund or another type of fund at a community foundation like ETCF may also help you meet your charitable and financial objectives. If you don’t know how to maximize your Qualified Charitable Distributions from your IRA or if that makes sense for you, give us a call and let’s talk through your options to be a good steward of your resources.
Lastly, there are donors who, for whatever reason, put off charitable giving to the last minute. Often donors such as small business owners don’t know their final financial situation for the year until the last minute. If you are taking it to the wire, be sure you know the holiday schedule of your favorite charity if you are planning to deliver a contribution at the end of the year. You may also be able to make an online contribution as late as the evening of December 31st, but you risk online glitches if you wait too late. Sending a gift by mail, postmarked on or before December 31st will also meet the deadline.
As we approach Thanksgiving and reflect on our many blessings, and the opportunity afforded to many of us to be generous, let these words remind you that it is giving season, and gently encourage you that there is still time for you to Give Well.
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