Charitable Donation of Real Estate

While U•N•I accepts cash donations, it specializes in facilitating real property donations to help end homelessness in the greater Sarasota area.  The donation of Real Estate can present a win/win solution for donors and local charities:

·  Whether it’s a family home, undeveloped land, a rental property, or some other investment, your real estate held for more than one year may be the most highly appreciated asset you own. This means you could face significant capital gains taxes if you sell your real property. Depending on your particular financial and charitable goals, donating real estate to a 501(c)(3) public charity, such as U•N•I, could allow you to maximize the impact of your charitable giving. 

·  Donating your real estate can unlock additional funds for charity in two ways. First, you potentially eliminate the capital gains tax you would incur if you sold the real estate yourself and then donated the proceeds, which may increase the amount available for charity by up to 20%. Second, you may claim a fair market value charitable deduction for the tax year in which the gift is made and can choose to pass on that savings as a larger gift.

·  Donors to U•N•I can designate the specific 501-c3 charities to receive net proceeds of their real estate donation, and/or designate a partial return of proceeds back to the donor (Note: Cash returned to donor impacts tax deductibility).  

·  Under the IRS tax code, donors can take a tax deduction for the full fair market value of the property (as determined by a qualified appraiser).  Donating can also eliminate capital gains taxes.

·  Many charities prefer receiving cash over real property because they do not have the real estate expertise or resources to facilitate a sale if maintenance, repairs or improvements are needed.  U•N•I has experienced team members available to handle this.

·  UNI is well connected with real estate service providers in the Sarasota community. Whether the need is for brokerage, maintenance, repairs or improvements, we have the resources to make your real estate donation simple.  Our goal is to minimize transaction expenses and maximize benefits to the charities we work with.

·  Getting started is easy:

o  Contact U•N•I’s Executive Director, Marc Pelletz, at marc@uni-together.org or call (941) 809-3869.

o  We’ll gather some basic information about your property to see if it can be accepted, and provide you with an initial assessment for review with your tax professional.  

o  We’ll send you the closing docs to sign, and provide you a tax-deductible receipt. We take care of the deed transfer and recording, notifying all necessary state and municipal authorities to complete the transfer. After closing, we take over all taxes, maintenance and insurance responsibilities for the property.

Note:  Each individual has a different tax situation, and U•N•I cannot offer tax advice.  Consultation with a tax professional is strongly advised.