Charitable Gift Annuity

Definition of "Charitable gift annuity"

Donation of amount "A," made by donor X to a charity. The charity agrees to pay donor X an amount ("B") for the rest of donor X's life. Since the donation is used to fund an annuity, only a percentage of the donation can be taken as a tax-deductible gift in the year of the donation. The percentage taken is based on the Internal Revenue Service tables at the donor's age at the time of the donation. This gift is irrevocable. Since the donor is dependent on the charity to make the income payments, the donor should ascertain the financial ability of the charity to make those income payments. Thus, such an annuity permits the donor to transfer appreciated property to a charitable organization in exchange for the organization's promise to pay a continuous stream of income.