Financial Planning: Gifts

Gifts: Save On Estate Taxes With Transferable Stock Options

Susan Daley
After you die, taxes may be owed on the value of your property. One pillar of estate planning is to transfer assets that are likely to appreciate in value, such as stock options, out of your control long before you die.

Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs) And Your Company Stock (Part 1)

Christopher Cline
The charitable remainder trust (CRT) is a mainstay of estate planning. Although designed for charitable giving, CRTs can play a role in financial planning for your stock grants.

When Giving Means Getting Back: The Tax Advantages Of Donating Stock

Joan Oleck
BusinessWeek
How do you donate stock, and what are the rules? What are the tax advantages of a donation? Amazingly, many people with stock options are not very sophisticated in managing their own finances.

Return to top of this page

What is the tax deduction for donations of my company stock?

The tax treatment is the same as it is for donations of any stock to a qualified charity. When you have held the stock for more than one year...

What is the tax treatment for gifts of company stock?

It's similar to the tax treatment for any gifts of stock. You may make annual gifts to any number of recipient up to the specified annual amount without any tax impact. Financial advisors often tell clients with substantial stock holding to consider making...

Can stock options be transferred or gifted to people or charities after I get them?

Most stock plans do not permit this for stock options or restricted stock during your life (i.e., transferable only at death), or they allow it only...

UPDATED! Can I put nonqualified stock options or company stock into a charitable remainder trust (CRT) or a grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT)?

As a general rule, the contribution of the stock options themselves to a CRT is rather...

Can I exercise my stock options, soon thereafter donate the shares to charity, and get a tax deduction for the stock's new higher price?

The charitable market-value deduction is limited to the cost of shares that are not held for more than one year...

Can I donate shares and then immediately buy the same number of shares on the open market?

Yes. You may donate company stock to the charity and simultaneously...

If I exercise my NQSO and immediately donate the shares to charity, do I still need to pay the taxes on the spread at exercise?

Yes. The option exercise and the...

Is the gifting or donation of stock that I acquired from an ISO exercise or ESPP purchase a disqualifying disposition? What is the tax treatment for early sale?

A disqualifying disposition occurs if you sell, transfer, exchange, gift, or donate the stock that you acquired without...

If I gift stock that has met the holding periods for Section 423 ESPPs, what is the tax treatment?

You can gift shares purchased from a qualified Section 423 ESPP after the holding requirements are satisfied without disqualifying consequences. However, you do not completely escape taxation...

When I gift stock from an incentive stock option exercise/hold that triggered AMT, do I get an adjustment for it on my AMT return?

Unlike with a stock sale, gifting ISO stock does not result in an AMT adjustment for the difference...

UPDATED! Do Rule 144 and Section 16 apply to gifts and donations of company stock by senior executives or directors?

Yes, though the gift itself is not subject to Rule 144. However, recipients of shares from "affiliates" stand in the shoes of their donors...

Return to top of page