Hey, How’s That PIF Doing Lately?

We write about pooled income funds (PIFs) from time to time. Pretty much the same old story – no one is creating new PIFs, and if you’ve got a PIF, it’s probably languishing. The income distributed each year is just a fraction of what was distributed in the heyday of PIFs – the glory days of the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Since PIFs can only distribute net income, and since interest rates have been relatively low for decades, there seems to be no appeal anymore. There have been no new gifts in years, and the participants are slowly dying off. Death by a thousand cuts, as they say. But there is still something to say about pooled income funds. For organizations that have large and robust PIFs, the benefits are significant, and they are still coming in. We took a random look at some actual PIFs and found that the charitable remainder amounts distributed to their sponsoring charities are astounding. Remainders ranged anywhere from 110% to 250% of the original gift amount. How can that be? How is...

The IRS Says You Didn’t File Your PIF or CRT Form 5227…But You Did!

We are getting accustomed to waiting longer for things these days: Waiting for baggage to come at the airport. Waiting for food to be delivered. Waiting for any device that uses a microchip. Many of the delays are due to staffing shortages. The IRS is no different. If you have received a paper notification that you didn’t file your 2020 PIF or CRT Form 5227, you are not alone. That’s because the IRS automated notice system is working just fine. However, due to staffing shortages, the IRS is delayed in opening these and other hard copy returns. So while the automatic notice machine churns on, the real live humans are still sitting and opening envelopes trying to catch up.

It’s Tax Season, and Timing Is Everything This Year

Everyone knows by now that the IRS has extended the filing deadlines for 2020 federal income tax returns for individual taxpayers; the normal deadline of April 15 has been extended to May 17, giving all of us an extra month. But less widely known is that the federal tax filing deadline for trust tax returns has not been extended.

Pooled Income Funds May Make a Comeback in 2015

Next year may be an opportune time to promote gifts to a pooled income fund (PIF)! That’s right. The planned giving vehicle that most charities have mothballed for the last 20 years may be poised for a comeback. Why? Read on. In 2015, the charitable deduction for a gift to a pooled income fund less than three taxable years old will be the highest it has ever been. That is because the deduction for gifts to a “young” fund is based on an assumed valuation rate provided by the IRS, rather than a rate based on the fund’s own net income earning experience. This valuation rate will be just 1.2% in 2015, the lowest it has ever been, and that means that deductions for gifts to young PIFs in 2015 will be the highest they have ever been.