And how structured giving stops the erosion
The Tax System Is Not One Tax — It Is Nine
When most people think about taxes, they think about income tax. But the tax system is far more comprehensive than that single event. It extracts wealth at multiple points across a lifetime — and again at death.
While you are alive:
1. Income tax — 10–37% federal plus state (0–13.3%). On every dollar earned.
2. Corporate taxes — 10–30% on business income before it reaches the owner.
3. Capital gains taxes — 20% federal (plus 3.8% net investment income tax for high earners) on appreciated assets when sold.
4. Gift taxes — 40% on gifts above the annual exclusion ($18,000 per recipient in 2024) and lifetime exemption.
After death:
5. Estate taxes — 40% on the taxable estate above the federal exemption threshold.
6. Probate costs — 3–10% of the estate value.
7. Inheritance taxes — 3–18% in states that impose them.
8. Trust taxation — 37% on trust income above $14,450 (2024).
9. Step-up rules for trusts — inherited assets in trusts do not receive the step-up in basis that direct inheritances receive.
The alternative: Tax-exempt entities (nonprofits and private foundations) pay only 1.39% excise tax on net investment income.
The Lifetime Math
For a donor earning $300,000 per year over a 30-year career, the cumulative tax burden — across income taxes, capital gains, and estate taxes — can easily exceed $3 million to $5 million.
That is not money the donor chose to give away. It is money that left their hands automatically, directed to the government's priorities rather than their own.
Structured giving does not eliminate taxes. But it redirects a meaningful portion of that burden — legally, compliantly, and permanently — to causes the donor actually cares about.
The Redirection Strategy
The core insight of structured giving is this: every dollar that goes to a qualified charitable organization is a dollar that does not go to the IRS.
At a 37% federal tax rate, a $100,000 charitable contribution generates $37,000 in federal tax savings. The donor is not losing $100,000 — they are redirecting $63,000 of their own capital plus deploying $37,000 that would otherwise have gone to the government.
The cause receives $100,000. The IRS receives $37,000 less. The donor retains more control over where their wealth goes.
Sid Peddinti, Esq. is the founder of the 10X The Donation™. This content is for educational purposes only.
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