The concept of giving money away in order to avoid paying a tax is sort of stupid. It's not "effective money management."

The tax won't eat up all of the profit, just some of it. Accepting the payout will still mean you have more money available. And in the case of this stock, you'll have profit, PLUS you'll have the return of your original investment--not a gain, but more liquid cash.

If you're giving it to charity because that charity is important and this capital gain gives you an opportunity you've been hopoing for, to help, fine. But that has NOTHING to do w/ taxes (except that your gift to the charity will be larger)

But giving the money away, just to avoid paying tax, is cutting your nose off to spite your face. And as tight as money seems to be for you, and a close to the bone as you seem to cut it, were I your kid I'd be furious that you gave away some of the security that this investment should have given you--money for the doctor, for gas, to get your car fixed.

Hi again Sue,

I give much more than that amount annually to various social, medical, educational, international and religious charities.

If I took the proceeds of the stock certificate in cash, then paid tax on half of the capital gain, that'd be tax that I'd be paying that I can avoid by giving the stock certificate directly to a charity. So there'd be less after-tax money to contribute directly by cheque than by contributing the stock certificate and avoiding the income tax entirely.

Sorry that I didn't make that clear in the first place.

There's another benefit that has been instituted in recent years - our first $200.00 of charitable contribution is deducted at our regular tax rate, but above that, we can deduct at the top tax rate, even though, as I'm a low- to middle-income earner, my tax rate on my top dollar earned is much lower.

"My" money, as my life, isn't just "mine" - I have to answer to God, to a certain extent, for the way it's used. That loyalty, sort of like my loyalty to my father, is not of the "big stick" kind, but the compulsion that one feels in relating to one who exemplifies integrity, and love, as my father did (but I don't think that he ever told me that he loved me). My Mom was hospitalized when I was six or seven, and died when I was 13 (I took the message), and I asked Dad once whether he felt that he'd sort of put some of his emotional self into cold storage, and he said that he didn't think so - but I'm not so sure.

Good wishes for skillful management of your income and assets, Talley Sue- and everyone.

ole joyful

so in other words, you'll NOT give the same amount of money from some OTHER stream, and use this one instead, thereby avoiding the tax?

That makes sense, in terms of "effective money management." You end up w/ more money to do the things you want to do with it.

I didn't mean to imply there was something wrong with giving generously to charities, just so's you know.