That would make it advantageous to give an appreciated security to an elderly relative who has modest income, rather than selling it and paying capital gains tax.
You can fund either investment with appreciated securities and postpone capital gain tax on the appreciation.
Then you use charitable contributions of appreciated securities to reduce ordinary income.
For people with appreciated securities like stocks, donating now can make financial sense.
But the tax savings can be far larger if they give appreciated securities, which are deductible at market value with no capital gains tax due.
People who sell businesses or appreciated securities, or exercise stock options, have to be aware of timing, said Richard Coppa, managing director of Wealth Health, a financial advisory firm.
Putting appreciated securities in a trust would seem to be a good idea, but that could lock up liquid assets that might be needed.
If you plan to sell appreciated securities to help pay a college bill next fall, give the securities to the student and let him make the sale.
But from a tax standpoint, an even better approach would be to donate appreciated securities to the church or another charity and let it sell them.
"The question is: If you do want to support a charity, what is the most tax-efficient way to do it?" Mr. Weigandt's answer is to give appreciated securities before year-end.
