Tax Questions

What is Columbia’s Tax ID number?

Columbia University’s Tax ID number is 13-5598093.

What are the tax benefits of making a gift to Columbia?

It depends on the form your gift takes.

Cash

Individuals may deduct charitable cash contributions up to 50 percent of their adjusted gross income. If all deductible gifts in the year you make your gift exceed the 50 percent limit, the excess amount may be carried over as a deduction for up to five years.

Appreciated Securities

For a gift of appreciated securities, you may deduct up to 30 percent of your adjusted gross income. If you have held your gift of securities for more than one year, your charitable deduction will be the full, fair-market value of the gift, with no capital gains liability on its appreciation.

Personal Property

Gifts of personal property, like art, books, and collectibles, are fully deductible so long as they are relevant to our mission. We can advise you on this point.

Bequests

Although they do not generate a lifetime income tax deduction, bequests are exempt from estate tax.

Life Insurance

As with bequests, life insurance distributions to Columbia are not income-tax deductible, but are exempt from estate taxes. However, a lifetime gift of a fully paid-up insurance policy to Columbia University generates a deduction for the value of the policy.

What are the tax benefits and/or liabilities for life income gifts?

The charitable deduction for a gift that makes payments to you, such as a charitable gift annuity or a charitable remainder trust, is the fair market value of the gift asset minus the present value of the income interest you retain.

What kind of gift offers the most significant tax advantage?

It will likely depend on your individual situation. It is advisable to discuss potential gifts with your tax or financial advisor to determine which type of gift will offer the greatest tax advantage. For more information on the potential tax advantages of specific gifts, please consult the “Ways to Give” section of this site.

If I live in Hong Kong, do I receive any tax benefits for making a gift to Columbia?

To help our friends and alumni from Hong Kong support the University and receive income tax benefits, we have established the Columbia University Hong Kong Fund which is registered under Section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance. Hong Kong residents who make their gifts to this fund may deduct the donated amount from their total income, up to a maximum of 25% of their income.

You may make gifts to the fund through a wire transfer of cash. For transfer details, please contact us at gift.planning@columbia.edu or by calling Maxine Carter at 212-851-7445.

For more information about the tax benefits, you can consult the Inland Revenue Department website. http://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/welcome.htm.

Bob Chiu, a ’71 Columbia SEAS graduate in Hong Kong whom you may know, is a trustee for the trust, and he may be helpful in provideing additional information. You can reach Bob at +852 2298 3298.

If I live in the UK, do I receive any tax benefits for making a gift to Columbia?

Yes! Your gift can qualify for UK Gift Aid and simultaneously qualify as a deduction against your US taxes.

To help our friends and alumni in the UK support the University while gaining tax benefits, we established the Columbia (UK) Fund Limited. A sterling-denominated gift to this fund from a donor who is subject to UK income tax is eligible for Gift Aid relief. This increases the donor’s philanthropic impact.

Let’s say you are a UK basic rate taxpayer and want to give £100 to the Columbia (UK) Fund Limited. It will be possible to do so at a cost to you of £78. If you are a UK higher rate taxpayer, the cost will be £60. This can be achieved by using the Gift Aid Scheme.

When you make a gift to the Columbia (UK) Fund Limited, you should complete a Gift Aid declaration form. The gift is then treated as though it was a gift of an amount from which income tax had been deducted at the basic rate. This means that Columbia can reclaim from the HM Customs and Revenue the basic rate income tax which is deemed to have been deducted from that gift. If you are a UK higher rate taxpayer, you can then reclaim 18% of the grossed-up value of the gift by including details on your tax return.

For those who pay taxes to both the UK and US:

Americans resident in the UK have particular income tax problems with respect to structuring tax efficient charitable gifts because they are subject to two systems of taxation. In the past Americans typically chose either to obtain tax relief in the US or UK and accepted that the overall benefit would be limited by the constraints of the other tax system.

The Columbia (UK) Fund Limited solves that problem. It is simultaneously governed by English and US law. Columbia owns all of the share capital of the Fund, and it has made an election to be treated as a “disregarded entity” for US tax purposes. The Columbia (UK) Fund Limited is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission and simultaneously qualifies as a foreign branch of the US exempt organization.

The effect of this election is that a sterling-denominated gift to the Columbia (UK) Fund Limited is eligible for income tax benefits in both the US and UK.

  • For UK tax purposes, the gift is to the English charity and is therefore eligible for Gift Aid relief.
  • For US tax purposes, the gift is treated as a gift to a US qualified exempt organization that will give rise to a US income tax deduction.

To Make a Gift

By Cheque
Please send a cheque made out to Columbia UK Fund Limited and payable in pounds sterling to:

Eileen Flood
Administrator
Columbia UK Fund
19 Norcott Road
London N16 7EJ

Be sure to include a Gift Aid Declaration Form and let us know which part of the University you want to support.

By Wire Transfer
Contact Columbia’s Office of Gift Planning: gift.planning@columbia.edu
001-212-870-3100

For More Details
Please contact Fred Hartwick, Executive Director of Gift Planning
fh2114@columbia.edu
001-212-870-3559


QUESTIONS CONTACTS COLLEGE FUND VOLUNTEERS

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