Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
This is the year to beef up one's donor advised fund. Because the standard deduction will be so much higher next year, far fewer people will be able to itemize. One is more likely to be able to deduct those charitable contributions this year. The DAF provides a way to retain those deductions, while caching the cash for contributions you'd be making anyway in subsequent years.
To Lewis' concern about DAFs slowing down the transfer of money to charities. That is a real problem. We prefer making our routine donations directly, and use our DAF primarily to handle appreciated securities and to serve as a reservoir for non-routine larger donations, generally disaster relief. However, the tax changes seem to make a 2017 DAF contribution the better way to go, at least until the laws are changed again.
Comments
To Lewis' concern about DAFs slowing down the transfer of money to charities. That is a real problem. We prefer making our routine donations directly, and use our DAF primarily to handle appreciated securities and to serve as a reservoir for non-routine larger donations, generally disaster relief. However, the tax changes seem to make a 2017 DAF contribution the better way to go, at least until the laws are changed again.