Donations of Stock and Other Non-Cash Gifts Rise Are Rising Fast

Americans are giving away tens of billions of dollars worth of stock, art, real-estate, and other noncash gifts every year, according to the IRS.

In a new report—the second of its kind—the IRS found that taxpayers reported at least $41.1-billion worth of non-cash gifts in 2005, the latest year for which data is available. The number of Americans who wrote off such gifts was about the same as in 2004, but the amount of those contributions increased by 10 per cent.

Contributions included stocks and other investments, real estate, art and collectibles, food, clothing, electronics, household items, cars and other vehicles, and other items such as airline tickets. Stock gifts accounted for the largest share of non-cash contributions, totaling $19.8-billion at their fair market value. Real-estate gifts, valued at $12.7-billion, made up the next largest share.

Some types of charities are getting more valuable non-cash gifts than others. For example, the IRS found that environmental and animal-welfare groups received an 89-percent increase in non-cash gifts in 2005, to $3.3-billion even though the number of people who reported giving to those organizations declined by 10 percent.