Charitable Trusts & Foundations Taking advantage of the charitable deduction is not limited to outright gifts of money or other property to charity. The tax laws permit charitable gift devices which not only provide a charitable deduction but allow the transferor to obtain additional benefits. These devices are commonly referred to as Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRT) or Charitable Lead Trusts (CLT). Charitable Remainder Trust With a Charitable Remainder Trust, an individual will make a gift to a trust in which the individual or someone designated by the person receives an "annuity" or "unitrust" interest for life or a term of years, up to a maximum of 20 years. At the expiration of the term or life interest the trust principal is turned over to the designated charity. The person making the gift receives a charitable deduction for the current value of the remainder interest even though the gift is not actually paid to the charity for many years. In addition, the holder of the life or term interest receives an annual income amount (typically between 5% to 9% of trust assets) and the trustee can diversify underlying trust assets [often appreciated stock] without immediate taxation.

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