A Charitable Gift Annuity enables you to receive fixed payments for life, offers potential tax benefits today, and creates a meaningful gift in support of Tufts’ future.

How Does it Work?

You make a gift to Tufts of cash, stock, or, if you are at least 70 ½ years old, a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) from an IRA. The university agrees to pay a fixed amount to you and/or another beneficiary for life. You select when you would like payments to begin:

  • Immediate payment gift annuity: payments begin in the year you make your gift
  • Deferred gift annuity: You choose a future date at which payments will begin. The longer you defer payments, the larger the annuity rate.
  • Flexible deferred gift annuity: You select a range of years over which you can elect to begin payments. During this range, you let Tufts know if you would like to begin payments or continue to defer them. The longer you defer payments, the larger the annuity rate.

At the passing of the named beneficiaries, the residue of the annuity is distributed to the purpose you designated at Tufts.

Why a Charitable Gift Annuity?

With a charitable gift annuity, you can:

  • Support an area of Tufts that is important to you.
  • Receive fixed payments for life that won’t fluctuate over time.
  • Use your payments to augment retirement income, benefit a loved one, or turn a low-yield asset into a higher payment.
  • Receive tax benefits.

What are the Tax Benefits?

Benefits of a charitable gift annuity will vary depending on how you fund your charitable gift annuity.

  • Cash: If you establish a charitable gift annuity with cash, you will qualify for a federal charitable income tax deduction for a portion of your gift, and part of your annuity payments may be tax-free.
  • Appreciated stock: You will qualify for a federal charitable income tax deduction for a portion of your gift. Also, no immediate capital gains tax is due, and you avoid a portion of the capital gains tax you would have paid if you sold the stock yourself. Part of your annuity payments may be tax-free.
  • IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD): Individuals who are at least 70 ½ years old can make a one-time QCD, up to $53,000 in 2024, to fund a charitable git annuity to benefit themselves and/or a spouse. The limit is indexed for inflation. There is no charitable income tax deduction when you fund a charitable gift annuity with a QCD, but you may exclude the amount of your QCD from your gross income for federal income tax purposes, and it may count towards your required minimum distribution (RMD).

How Are Gift Annuity Rates Determined? 

Several factors determine gift annuity rates, including the number of beneficiaries, their ages and when payments begin. Tufts University follows the charitable gift annuity rates recommended by the American Council on Gift Annuities (ACGA).

View current rates

Gift Example

You hold a long-term stock portfolio that has appreciated, but only pays you 2 percent income per year. You are now 75, and you are concerned that if you sell some of the stock to reinvest in bonds, capital gains taxes will cut heavily into the proceeds. You want to make a gift of $100,000 of stock to Tufts, but you need the income that your portfolio provides you.

You are looking for a gift plan that will continue this income and increase it, if possible.

Here's a summary of the income and tax benefits from this gift annuity:

Donor (Age 75)

Calculate the benefits a gift annuity would give you.

Amount contributed (stock)$100,000
Cost basis$20,000
Gift annuity rate7%
Annual payments
   Tax-Free portion
   Capital Gain Income
   Ordinary Income
$7,000.00
   $943.60
   $3,774.40
   $2,282.00
Charitable deduction$41,516.00

 

Please contact our office for a personal illustration based on current rates. Please note that the example above is based on a factor that is subject to change; your actual benefits may vary.

If you have questions contact
Tufts Gift Planning Office