Gift of Grain Fund
By Maura Teynor
October 13, 2021
What is Gift of Grain?
Farmers looking to minimize their tax liability and contribute to their community can donate crops to the Richland County Foundation via a local elevator. The producer can select a fund, such as the Gift of Grain Fund, to receive the gift. Grants made from the Gift of Grain Fund go to Richland County agricultural-related nonprofits like FFA and 4H. It is a wonderful way to invest in Richland County.
Why give grain instead of cash?
Donated grain is not recorded as income; you may save all or some of the following taxes: self-employment taxes, federal, state & local income taxes. Available for cash basis farmers only.
You may minimize costly tax deduction phase-outs. Some tax benefits are taken away at higher levels of adjusted gross income (AGI). These benefits are retained when you give grain rather than cash.
You may receive additional tax benefits. IRS rules limit charitable contribution deductions to 50% of your AGI. (The percentage is 10% for C-corporations.) Since the donated grain is not reported as income, by giving grain rather than cash, you can, in effect, give more and save more taxes than those limits allow. This is helpful either if you are especially generous or if you wish to “prepay” your donations in a given year.
The grain you give will not count as income in your government payments limitation caps calculations. If you are a high-earning farmer, please contact us for more details. You may be able to effectively redirect significant sums of money from the government to causes you would rather support. Before donating a gift of grain contact your CPA or tax adviser to discuss your personal tax implications.
For more information
Richland County Foundation President Brady Groves bgroves@rcfoundation.org
Richland County Foundation Chief Advancement Officer Maura Teynor mteynor@rcfoundation.org
419-525-3020
