The Parish Council recently raised the issue of some changes to the tax code which appear to have a favorable effect on charitable giving. On behalf of the Council, Tom Nuris reached out to Nick Tarlson of Tarlson Associates, CPA (Nick is also the Cathedral’s Choir Director) and asked him to put something together addressing these changes, for the benefit of the Cathedral’s parishioners and friends. Here is Nick’s response:
"There are several charitable giving strategies you should keep in mind, especially these days, when the Cathedral needs your support more than ever due to the COVID-19 closure.
The most recent Cares Act made a couple of changes which might benefit you:
1. The new “Universal” deduction allows a charitable deduction for up to $300 per individual “above-the-line,” even if you don’t itemize your deductions.
2. If you itemize, you can deduct qualified charitable contributions up to 100 percent of your adjusted gross income. Before and after the Cares Act (for the year 2020 only), contributions are limited to 60 percent of adjusted gross income.
3. For corporations, the deduction in increased from 10 to 25 percent of taxable income, again, only for 2020 at this point.
There is another planning opportunity which was available before the Cares Act, but merits renewed consideration if you are over age 70-1/2 and required to take a minimum distribution (“RMD”) from your retirement funds. If you are required to take an RMD, you can make a qualified charitable contribution to the Cathedral directly from your retirement account, and pay no tax on the distribution. If you already took an RMD for 2020, you can pay it back under the Cares Act, and then make the distribution to the Cathedral, avoiding tax on the distribution."
If you have any questions regarding these or other tax issues, feel free to contact Nick Tarlson at Tarlson & Associates 415-956-5700 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.