What is the Montana Qualifed Endowment Credit?

Contact Linda at Whitefish Community Foundation and tell her how much you would like to donate – for this example we will use $20,000. She will show you the list of more than 20 qualified Montana nonprofit endowment funds and ask you to choose which funds you would like to benefit from your gift. You may select one or several funds, or you may set up your own named permanent endowment fund. Linda will collect information from you to set up a deferred gift annuity, an easy planned gift that will allow you to take advantage of the tax credit.

For example, with a gift of $20,000, you would receive BOTH a federal charitable deduction of $18,057 and a Montana State tax credit of 40% of this gift (based on a joint gift) totaling approximately $7,222. This amount would be a direct credit to the taxes you owe to the State of Montana. (The amounts are hypothetical and will vary depending on life expectancy, age at the time of the gift and your income tax level). The Whitefish Community Foundation will hold this gift in an annuity fund where it is invested and grow with earnings. Once you release the contract on the deferred gift annuity, it will roll into the qualified endowment fund(s) you have designated with interest and be put to work benefiting our community. The gift must be held in a separate annuity fund for a minimum of five years before it can be reassigned to your selected charity or named fund.

This is just one example of how you can take advantage of the Montana Tax Credit. There are many ways to set-up a planned gift that can help you with your end-of-year tax planning.