Charitable Remainder Trust
Accelerate deduction, receive income, give to charity
When you give to a PCA Foundation Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT), you take a deduction for the gift now, the trust pays you (or beneficiaries you name) an income stream for life or lives or a period of years up to 20, and the trust pays the remainder to your PCAF donor-advised fund for ultimate distribution to your favorite charities. A CRT provides more secure income, an accelerated charitable tax deduction even while you continue to receive income on the gift amount, a potentially larger deduction than if you give later, and tax-free growth of the gift amount for the benefit of both the income beneficiaries and the charities. As well, you may fund a CRT with all or part of an appreciated non-cash asset you desire to sell either because you have received a particularly good offer or you desire to diversify your or your beneficiaries’ income streams. The CRT sells the funding asset free of capital gains tax, which results in a higher – diversified – principal that produces higher income payments.
A PCA Foundation CRT is a remarkably useful and flexible tool, serving many different donor objectives, but always ultimately decreasing income taxes in order to increase giving. CRTs come in many different types and with many different income payout options. You can create and fund a CRT during life, or in your will. Also, you may choose from a number of investment options to recommend. Download our informative guide to learn the details and advantages of a Charitable Remainder Trust.
Reduce Your Taxes
Receive a charitable income tax deduction now for the remainder gift to charity, and defer capital gains tax on non-cash assets given to and sold by the trust. And gifts to the CRT reduce the value of your estate at death, decreasing or eliminating estate tax.
Simplify Your Giving
You transfer cash or an appreciated asset to a special trust that the Foundation invests to generate income for you or beneficiaries you select, for life or a term of years. At the expiration of the trust, the remaining balance passes to your donor-advised fund at the Foundation for distribution to charities you or your successors select.
Advance God’s Kingdom
The CRT ultimately supports your church and other favorite charities that advance the proclamation of the Gospel and make grants that reveal the saving power of the Gospel in the hearts of God’s people.
How It Works
Propose a charitable remainder trust, and fund it with an initial gift of $50,000 or more.
Choose from Foundation investment options, or propose an outside investment manager for the trust.
The trust pays you or your beneficiaries regular income payments.
Receive regular reports of your contributions to the trust, trust investment results and expenses, and trust income payments.
Upon expiration of the trust at death or expiration of the term of years, the Foundation as trustee distributes the remaining funds to your Foundation donor-advised fund.
You or your successors recommend distributions from your donor-advised fund to the charities, in the amounts, at the times you or your successors advise.
If you’re interested in opening a charitable remainder trust or have further questions, contact our president, Tim Townsend (eastern U.S.), or our senior director of complex gifts, Greg Mattox (western U.S.), or fill out this form. If you are ready to propose a charitable remainder trust (with no obligation), click to our Charitable Trust Instructions page and click on the Charitable Remainder Trust option.
Additional Complex Services
We make a variety of donations possible.
Charitable Lead Trust
A PCAF Charitable Lead Trust operates in reverse to a Charitable Remainder Trust. It pays the income stream to your PCAF donor-advised fund for ultimate distribution to your favorite charities, and pays the remainder to your heirs or other beneficiaries (or with certain kinds of CLTs, to you). Advantages may include reduced or eliminated estate and gift taxes, and increased value of charitable deductions moved to years when taxable income and marginal tax rates are higher.
Non-Cash Gifts
Appreciated private non-cash assets for giving include family and other privately-held businesses and investment funds in the form of S corporation, LLC, or limited partnership, stock options, real estate, and even cryptocurrency. Giving such assets produces the largest deductions, consisting of exclusion from capital gains (the equivalent of a deduction) plus an actual charitable deduction.
Charitable Estate Planning
Our ministry includes helping you think about stewardship of your giving. You decide how much income and wealth to allocate to giving, and we help you plan how, when, and what to give during life and through the estate you leave in order to convert the most tax dollars to giving.