Did you know that the Commonwealth offers a special tax credit for charitable endowment gifts?

The Endow Kentucky Tax Credit program offers Kentucky taxpayers up to 20% for charitable gifts made to endowments held at qualified community foundations like Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF) or Horizon Community Funds of Northern Kentucky, for the benefit of Kentucky nonprofits and schools.

The state is one of only a few across the country that offers this type of incentive for charitable giving. The tax credits are available to both Kentucky-taxpaying individuals and businesses, but you do not need to be a resident to take advantage of the program. Beginning July 1, $1 million of state tax credits will be available until exhausted – typically within the first week.

What You Need to Know:

• State tax credits may be taken against individual income tax, corporate income tax, and limited liability income tax.
• The tax credit is in addition to federal and state tax deductions for qualified charitable gifts.
• Tax credits may be carried forward for up to five years.
• Tax credits for individuals and businesses may be up to $10,000 (for endowment gifts of up to $50,000). Married couples filing jointly may receive tax credits of up to $20,000 (for endowment gifts of up to $100,000).
• Only gifts to endowments held at qualified community foundations are tax-credit eligible.
• Endowment gifts may be cash or stock. There is no minimum gift amount.
• Before the gift is made, a single-page application must first be filed with and approved by the Kentucky Department of Revenue. Applications, found at revenue.ky.gov, should be submitted July 1 – 7.

Since 2011, GCF has helped taxpayers capture nearly $2 million in tax credits through gifts of more than $10 million to 38 GCF endowments supporting Kentucky nonprofits. These endowed gifts provide a permanent stream of funding for organizations and everlasting support for the people they serve.

“At Grove Transportation Services, Inc., we recognize our responsibility to support our local community. The hard work our team exhibits is for the good of our customers, as well as the charities to which we are blessed to give,” says Warren Grove, Director of Human Resources and Corporate Risk Management at Grove Transportation Services, Inc. and member of the Goering Center since 2018.  “Endow Kentucky provides us the opportunity to amplify our giving to charitable organizations in our backyard, like Gateway Community and Technical College and BAWAC.”