PPB May 2018

by Wayne Greenberg, MAS If It Feels Good, Keep Doing It P araphrasing an anthem from the ’60s, if it feels good, do it. The “it” I’m referring to is charitable giving. Specifically, giving to the Promotional Products Education Foundation (PPEF). It feels good to give. Read more about that later, but first, consider the U.S. tax code changes enacted in January and their impact on charitable giving. As you probably know, the new standard deductions for personal tax bills will increase dramatically this year—to $24,000 for married couples filing jointly and to $12,500 for single tax payers. These are both almost double what they were in 2017. Previously, mortgage interest, medical costs, charitable contributions (cash and goods) and other deductible items that totaled more than $13,000 as a couple could be itemized as deductions. Therefore, theoretically, the more you donated to your house of worship, college, charities and, yes, PPEF, the smaller your tax burden became. In essence, there was a financial incentive to make charitable contributions. However, with the new deduction at $24,000, many analysts believe that charitable deductions will decrease because there’s no longer an incentive to give. 62 | MAY 2018 | THINK