Valuing donated stock share (What is the date of delivery)

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redmaw
Posts: 355
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2019 7:20 am

Valuing donated stock share (What is the date of delivery)

Post by redmaw »

I have a question on how exactly to value shares which I donated to a DAF. I assumed you just took the letter provided by the DAF and used that valuation. However, the funding letter the DAF provides has a footnote that says "The valuation provided here may not be the correct valuation for your tax purposes. For purposes of the charitable contribution deduction, you must value your contribution as of the date delivery is effected..."

Why would the date delivery is effected be different that the date of the DAF letter? After a bit of googling I am even more confused. There appears to be a bunch of rules depending on what is donated, and how delivery was made, from the first link on google:

Contributions of investment securities. The contribution of investment securities becomes deductible when the gift securities have passed beyond the donor’s control. For example, if stock is delivered through a broker or bank that acts as the agent of the donor in transferring the stock into the name of the donee, the gift is not deductible until the transfer is reflected on the books of the corporation. The same result is reached when the donor sends a stock certificate to the issuing corporation or the transfer agent with instructions to reregister the stock in the name of the donee charity.

The above issues are bypassed if the donor mails to the donee organization both (1) the stock certificate, and (2) a properly executed stock power with the donor’s stock power with the donor’s signature guaranteed in accordance with the applicable stock exchange rules. When this is done, the donor is deemed to have relinquished control, and hence made the gift, on the postmark date, and the deduction is allowable at this time.

So in this case I mailed a form to the DAF authorizing the donation on 8/28, the stock appears to have been removed from my brokerage account on 9/21 (I can't seem to find any actual documentation in my account, the shares are just gone), and the funds became available in the DAF today (9/22).

Lets say for an example I donated 100 shares of apple...closing price on 8/28 was 148.60, closing on 9/21 was 143.43, lets assume for discussion purposes closing price today is 145... Do I take a deduction for 14860, 14343, 14500, or the letter value of 14305?
TheGreyingDuke
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Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 10:34 am

Re: Valuing donated stock share (What is the date of delivery)

Post by TheGreyingDuke »

I use the value as retorted initially at the DAF
"Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race." H.G. Wells
DJZ
Posts: 158
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2020 6:42 pm

Re: Valuing donated stock share (What is the date of delivery)

Post by DJZ »

It is the date that you lose control of the asset. So, if you initiate a transfer in the morning it will be that day.

DZ
fourwheelcycle
Posts: 1965
Joined: Sun May 25, 2014 5:55 pm

Re: Valuing donated stock share (What is the date of delivery)

Post by fourwheelcycle »

DJZ wrote: Thu Sep 23, 2021 11:29 pm It is the date that you lose control of the asset. So, if you initiate a transfer in the morning it will be that day.

DZ
+1 If your stocks, or mutual fund shares, are held at Vanguard, the hi-lo average valuation day is the day recorded as the Transfer Out date in your Transaction History.

There are many web sites that will provide historical price data. Here is an example link for VTSAX https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/VTSAX/history?p=VTSAX
Topic Author
redmaw
Posts: 355
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2019 7:20 am

Re: Valuing donated stock share (What is the date of delivery)

Post by redmaw »

Ok, so I went back and looked again, they transaction history in my brokerage account shows transfer out on 9/20, but after market close (something like 8PM). I guess I still average the opening and closing price on 9/20.
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