# Donating property to charity: what you can give, what it is worth on your taxes, and what to decide before you sell

*URL:* https://christianfinancialadvisors.com/resources/articles/donation-of-property-to-charity/
*Updated:* 2026-10-29T10:38:35+00:00

You can give almost anything you own to a qualified charity: land, a house, stock, a business interest, precious metals, even a car. What the gift is worth on your taxes depends on the property, how long you held it, and your income.

For long-term appreciated property given to a church or other public charity, the deduction is capped at 30% of your adjusted gross income in a year, and the excess carries forward five years.

I developed a planned giving workshop I call [10-4-4](https://christianfinancialadvisors.com/podcast/creative-giving-strategies/): ten giving strategies, four time periods and four giving tools. I have given it many times in a lot of churches, and at Christian Financial Advisors® I help clients give land, stock, business interests and other property. The point I keep returning to is simple. [Most families own far more in property and investments than they hold in cash](https://christianfinancialadvisors.com/resources/articles/smarter-giving-equals-greater-giving/), yet they give almost entirely from cash. They miss gifts they could have made and pay tax they did not need to pay. Every family I meet with answers four questions:

- What do I own?
- What do I give?
- Could I pay less in tax by giving more wisely?
- Would a smarter giving strategy help?

## Three property gifts we have helped with

Here are three gifts from households we serve. I have removed the details that could identify anyone.

**A lot that became an income for life.** One client owned a three-acre commercial lot that had grown to be worth about a million and a half dollars. She loved a Christian school she had attended in her earlier years. Instead of selling the lot, she gave it to the school through a charitable gift annuity. She receives an income for life, and the school receives what remains when she passes. A gift annuity gives a partial deduction, not a full one, and it pays back a fixed income. Another client owned nearly an acre that had been in her family for years, and she also gave it away through a gift annuity, to a Christian university. We talked through the first gift on our [year-end giving episode](https://christianfinancialadvisors.com/podcast/year-end-charitable-gifting-ideas/).

**Gold that would not sell at cost.** A client inherited gold his father had paid about $1,000,000 for. He went to five or six different brokers and could not get more than $900,000 to $950,000. Shawn Peters, my co-host, pointed out that this is not a positive return and not even close to keeping pace with inflation. Shawn also urged listeners to check with several brokers, because one may charge a commission of 3% to 5% and another 10% or more. My advice was to give the gold to a [donor-advised fund](https://christianfinancialadvisors.com/resources/articles/donor-advised-fund/) and let the fund find the best buyer. Ryan Assunto of the National Christian Foundation adds a caution I pass along: the charity has to be able to take physical possession of the gold, and an appraiser sets the value of the gift. He explains it on [our episode on non-cash assets](https://christianfinancialadvisors.com/podcast/charitable-giving-strategies-using-non-cash-assets/), and I tell the [gold story](https://christianfinancialadvisors.com/podcast/10-non-cash-giving-ideas-to-lower-taxes/) there as well.

**My own giving.** At year end, I give appreciated stock or an ETF to our donor-advised fund. The fund sells it, and no capital gains tax is due on shares held more than a year. Our family gives to our church out of the fund through the year. This is the approach we recommend, and we set up these funds for clients through the [National Christian Foundation](https://www.ncfgiving.com).

## Give the property before you sell it

This is the tenth strategy in my workshop, and I first heard the principle from the National Christian Foundation. Take a $300,000 asset that has been fully depreciated. If you sell it and then give $30,000 in cash, you keep $195,000 after tax. If you give part of the property to charity before the sale, the gift can rise to $40,000 and you still keep the same $195,000. The gift goes from 10% of the value to about 13%, and you have not hurt yourself at all.

Sell, then give
Give, then sell

Asset
$300,000, fully depreciated
$300,000, fully depreciated

Gift to charity
$30,000 in cash
$40,000, part of the property given before the sale

You keep after tax
$195,000
$195,000

Gift as a share of the asset
10%
About 13%

These numbers are an illustration, not a tax calculation. Your own result depends on your basis, how long you have held the property and how you own it, so run it past your CPA.

What I am trying to do is take taxes that would normally go to the government and turn them into giving dollars. You are still living on the same amount.

### When you need the income from the property

Some owners cannot give away the income their property produces. Here is an example I use. Land bought for a couple hundred thousand dollars is now worth over a million, which is an $800,000 gain. If you sell it yourself, you owe tax on that gain. If you place the land in a charitable remainder trust before the sale, the trust sells it, no tax is due on the sale, and the trust pays you an income for life. Whatever remains goes to charity, and I often point that remainder to a family donor-advised fund. These are round numbers to show the idea, not a tax calculation.

We generally use charitable remainder trusts for gifts above about $1,000,000. The trust has to be signed and own the property before it sells it, so talk to us before you enter into a contract. One common version is the charitable remainder unitrust, often called a CRUT, and we cover it in its own article. For the full picture, read our guide to [charitable remainder trusts](https://christianfinancialadvisors.com/resources/articles/charitable-remainder-trusts/).

The gift annuity is the simpler cousin. The property goes in, a fixed income comes back for life, and the charity keeps what remains. You receive a partial deduction. We use the National Christian Foundation for these, and I explain how a [charitable gift annuity](https://christianfinancialadvisors.com/resources/articles/creative-giving-part-4-the-how/) works in a short series on giving.

## What you can give, and what a charity can take

Here is the list we work from: publicly traded securities, real estate, closely held businesses, S corporation stock, LLC interests, limited partnerships, mineral interests, intellectual property, loan notes and life insurance. Look past your checking account and ask what else you own that could become [living water](https://christianfinancialadvisors.com/resources/articles/creative-giving-part-3-the-how/) for the Kingdom.

Do not overlook the small gifts. I know a lot of people who bought a lot years ago, maybe a quarter of an acre, and it just sits there doing nothing and costing them taxes every year. They could turn it into living water. If you farm or ranch, crops and livestock can be given too.

A charity has to be able to receive the gift. Here are four things I check before anyone offers property:

1. **No timeshares.** People ask me whether they can hand over a timeshare. You can’t. It is far too complicated for a charity to take. If your gift is clothing or household goods, that is a different kind of gift with its own rules, and we cover it in a separate article.
2. **Is the gift usable?** Ryan Assunto tells of a good-hearted donor who wanted to give an old school bus to a new school. The bus was broken down, and several schools said no thank you. An old laptop that cannot get online at your house will not get online overseas either. Put yourself in the charity’s seat before you give.
3. **Debt changes the result.** If a house or land carries a mortgage, the debt changes the tax result. It can reduce your deduction, and a charity may decline the property. The charity or fund looks at it first, so ask your CPA or attorney before you offer it.
4. **Small churches often cannot take shares.** Many small churches have no brokerage account. We approve requests case by case to open a brokerage account in the church’s name, so a member can give shares and we can sell them for the church. We do this as a ministry. We want to donate some of our time and resources to a good cause, and we also have to serve our paying clients, so please talk to us about your church before you assume we can. To see how a gift to your church is deducted, we cover church donations and taxes in a separate article.

Before we do any planned giving, we also want to make sure everything else is taken care of: your financial planning, investment management, retirement planning and tax planning. We make sure that happens first, and then we do the planned gift.

## How a property gift is valued and deducted

These rules are for the 2026 tax year, and your CPA has the final say.

- **Qualified charity.** The gift has to go to a qualified charity, such as a church or a donor-advised fund sponsor.
- **Itemizing.** A property gift lowers your taxes only if you itemize. The new 2026 deduction for people who do not itemize covers cash gifts only, not stock, land or other property. If you itemize, only charitable gifts above 0.5% of your adjusted gross income are deductible.
- **Holding period.** Property held more than a year is generally deducted at fair market value, and you avoid tax on the built-in gain. Property held a year or less is generally limited to the lesser of what you paid or its value. Art, collectibles and gold can also be limited to what you paid if the charity does not use them for its mission, so ask your CPA before you count on fair market value.
- **Income cap.** Long-term appreciated property given to a church or public charity is capped at 30% of your adjusted gross income in a year, and the excess carries forward five years.
- **Cars.** A car’s deduction usually follows what the charity sells it for. If the charity makes significant use of the car, improves it, or gives it to a person in need, the deduction can be its fair market value.
- **Timing.** The gift has to be complete by December 31 to count for this year. More on that below.

### The paperwork

Keep the charity’s written acknowledgment for any single gift of $250 or more. If your total non-cash gifts for the year are more than $500, you file an IRS form for non-cash gifts. For an item or group of similar items worth more than $5,000, you generally also need a qualified appraisal, with an exception for publicly traded shares. For a car with a claimed value above $500, you need a written acknowledgment from the charity. We will walk you through the steps, and your CPA makes the final call.

## What the Bible says about giving what you own

Psalm 24:1 is the foundation of everything I teach on this: “The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the Lord” (CSB). If your business or your land belongs to the Lord, you can give a part of it. I need to look at doing this myself.

Jesus tells us to “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,” and then adds, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:20-21, CSB). Where your treasure sits tells you where your heart sits.

The principle of firstfruits can be taken literally by a farmer. “Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest” (Proverbs 3:9, CSB). A share of the crop can be a gift.

Paul reminds us of the words of the Lord Jesus: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35, CSB). I open most of our giving episodes with that verse, because I believe it.

## Timing a property gift for this tax year

Property takes longer than a check. For a deduction this year, the gift has to be complete by December 31, and we need the request started by November 30, 2026. Please don’t be calling us on December 30th. The paperwork, the appraisal and the transfer take time, and a gift we have not started by our cut-off is too late for this tax year. We cover more [year-end giving and tax strategies](https://christianfinancialadvisors.com/resources/articles/year-end-giving-and-tax-strategies/) in our resources.

## Plan the gift before you sell

Most of what God has entrusted to a family is not in the checking account, and the gift that does the most good is usually planned before a sale, not rushed at year end. If you own land, stock, a business interest or other property, talk to Christian Financial Advisors® about what you own and what you want to give, before you sell or give anything, so the gift is planned rather than rushed.

[Explore Planned Giving Options](https://christianfinancialadvisors.com/services/planned-giving-services/) [Talk to an Advisor](https://christianfinancialadvisors.com/meet/consult/)

## Frequently asked questions

### Do I need an appraisal to donate property to charity?

Often, yes. For an item or group of similar items worth more than $5,000, you generally need a qualified appraisal, with an exception for publicly traded shares. If your total non-cash gifts for the year are more than $500, you also file an IRS form for non-cash gifts. Your CPA can confirm what applies to your gift.

### Can I donate a house or land that still has a mortgage on it?

Sometimes, but debt changes the tax result. It can reduce your deduction, and a charity may decline property that carries a mortgage. The charity or fund looks at the debt before it accepts the gift, so talk to your CPA or attorney first.

### Can I give land or stock to my church?

Yes, if the church is able to receive it. Many small churches cannot take shares because they have no brokerage account, and we approve requests case by case to open one in the church’s name. For land, talk to the church first, because it has to be able and willing to take the property.

### How much of my income can I deduct for non-cash gifts in one year?

For 2026, long-term appreciated property given to a church or other public charity is capped at 30% of your adjusted gross income, and other non-cash property is capped at 50%. The excess carries forward five years in the same category. If you itemize, the 0.5% of adjusted gross income floor applies first, so check the numbers with your CPA.

### What if I have owned the property for less than a year?

Property held a year or less is generally limited to the lesser of what you paid or its fair market value. That can be much smaller than the full value. Ask your CPA whether waiting until you pass the one-year mark makes sense for you.

### If I donate a car, can I deduct what it is worth?

Not always. If the charity sells the car without significant use or improvement, your deduction is generally limited to the sale price. If the charity makes significant use of it, improves it, or gives it to a person in need, the deduction can be its fair market value. For a claimed value above $500, you need a written acknowledgment from the charity.

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