To take a 2012 charitable donation deduction, the gift must be made by Dec. 31, 2012. According to the IRS, a donation generally is “made” at the time of its “unconditional delivery.” But what does this mean? Is it the date you, for example, write a check or make an online gift via your credit card? Or is it the date the charity actually receives the funds — or perhaps the date of the charity’s acknowledgment of your gift?

The delivery date depends in part on what you donate and how you donate it. Here are a few examples for common donations:

Check. The date you mail it.

Credit card. The date you make the charge.

Pay-by-phone account. The date the financial institution pays the amount.

Stock certificate. The date you mail the properly endorsed stock certificate to the charity.

Many additional rules apply to the charitable donation deduction, so please contact us if you have questions about the deductibility of a gift you’ve made or are considering making.

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If you own highly appreciated assets you’ve held long term, it may make sense to recognize gains now rather than risk paying tax at a higher rate next year:

1. The 15% long-term capital gains rate is scheduled to return to 20%.

2. Higher-income taxpayers will be subject to a new 3.8% Medicare tax on some or all of their net investment income.

As Congress and the President negotiate on how to address the fiscal cliff, it’s still unclear whether the 15% rate will be extended — especially for higher-income taxpayers.

Because a final deal in Washington may not be reached until the very end of the year — or even after Jan. 1 — you can’t necessarily afford to take a wait-and-see attitude. And the new 3.8% Medicare tax will go into effect regardless of what happens with the fiscal cliff. If you have questions about the potential tax impact on your investments, please contact us.

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The 2012 gift tax annual exclusion allows you to give up to $13,000 per recipient tax-free without using up any of your lifetime gift tax exemption. If you and your spouse “split” the gift, you can give $26,000 per recipient. The exclusion is scheduled to increase to $14,000 ($28,000 for split gifts) in 2013.

The gifted assets are removed from your taxable estate, which can be especially advantageous if you expect them to appreciate. That’s because the future appreciation can avoid gift and estate taxes.

But you need to use your 2012 exclusion by Dec. 31 or you’ll lose it. The exclusion doesn’t carry from one year to the next. For example, if you don’t make an annual exclusion gift to your grandson this year, you can’t add $13,000 to your 2013 exclusion to make a $27,000 tax-free gift to him next year.

We can help you determine how to make the most of your 2012 gift tax annual exclusion.

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