Make a Tax-Wise Gift

Qualified Charitable Distribution

If you or your spouse is over 70½ and has an Individual Retirement Account, you can make tax-free gifts to charity. The Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) is a great way to support Vassar without impacting your income tax circumstances.

How it works:

  • You must be 70½ or older at the time of the gift.
  • Each IRA account owner can distribute up to $111,000 in 2026.
  • Distributions must be made directly from a traditional IRA account by your IRA administrator to Vassar College. Instructions for making a QCD gift.
  • Gifts must be outright, meaning they go directly to Vassar College. Distributions through donor-advised funds do not qualify.
  • Gifts from 401(k), 403(b), “ongoing” SEP or SIMPLE IRAs, and other plans do not qualify. Ask your financial advisor if it would make sense for you to create a traditional IRA account so you can benefit from an IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution.

Benefits:

  • IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions are excluded as gross income for federal income tax purposes on your IRS Form 1040.
  • The gift counts toward your Required Minimum Distribution for the year in which you made the gift.
  • You can start using your IRA to make charitable gifts even before your RMD. 
  • You could avoid a higher tax bracket that might otherwise result from adding an RMD to your taxable income.

Gifts-in-Kind

Did you know you can donate some non-cash assets to Vassar with little or no legal expense? Gifts-in-kind, as they are known, can be either personal property or real estate that can be used by Vassar to carry out its mission.

Personal Property (Works of Art, Books, Instruments, etc.)

How it works:

  • You transfer a work of art or other personal property to Vassar College.
  • Vassar may hold and display the work, or otherwise use it in the furtherance of its mission.
  • Vassar reserves the right to sell the property at a future date and use the proceeds in support of its mission.

Benefits:

  • You receive an immediate income tax deduction for the appraised value of your gift and pay no capital gains tax, so long as the gift can be used by Vassar to carry out its mission.
  • Without using cash, you can make a gift that is immediately beneficial to Vassar.

This gift may be right for you if:

  • You hold artwork or other items that would be useful to our mission.
  • You want to avoid capital gains tax on the transfer of these assets and possibly gain a tax benefit.

If you are considering such a gift, please contact us at giftplanning@vassar.edu.


Real Estate

How it works:

  • You deed your home, vacation home, undeveloped property, or commercial building to Vassar College.
  • Vassar may use the property or sell it and use the proceeds.

Benefits:

  • You receive an income tax deduction for the fair market value of the real estate.
  • You pay no capital gains tax on the transfer.
  • You can direct the proceeds from your gift to support the overall mission of Vassar.

This gift may be right for you if:

  • You hold readily marketable residential, commercial, or undeveloped real estate that has risen in value that you no longer wish to maintain.
  • You are concerned about rising real estate taxes and the capital gains cost of selling the property.
  • You have a vacation property that is no longer needed.
  • You would like to consider using your real property for a life income giving arrangement.

You can donate real estate to Vassar in several ways:

  • As an outright donation;
  • As the donation of a fractional interest in the property;
  • As the asset to fund a gift plan that will pay you income, such as a charitable unitrust;
  • By donating your home, while at the same time reserving the right to continue living there for your lifetime or for the lifetime of someone else, such as a spouse or sibling (a retained life estate).

If you are considering such a gift, please contact us at giftplanning@vassar.edu.

The gift planning information presented on this Vassar Gift Planning website is not offered as legal or tax advice.