A Good Deed

Want to make a big gift to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation without touching your bank account? Consider giving the gift of real estate. This type of donation helps us educate military children for years to come. And a gift of real estate also helps you. When you gift appreciated property you have held longer than one year, you qualify for a federal income tax charitable deduction. This eliminates capital gains tax. And you no longer have to deal with that property's maintenance costs, property taxes or insurance.

Another benefit: You don't have to hassle with selling the real estate. You can deed the property directly to the Scholarship Foundation or ask your attorney to add a few sentences in your will or trust agreement.

Ways to Give Real Estate

You can give real estate to the Scholarship Foundation in the following ways:

An outright gift+

When you make a gift today of real estate you have owned longer than one year, you qualify for a federal income tax charitable deduction equal to the property's full fair market value. This deduction lets you reduce the cost of making the gift and frees cash that otherwise would have been used to pay taxes. By donating the property to us, you also eliminate capital gains tax on its appreciation.

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A gift in your will or living trust+

A gift of real estate through your will or living trust allows you the flexibility to change your mind and the potential to support our work with a larger gift than you could during your lifetime. In as little as one sentence or two, you can ensure that your support for the Scholarship Foundation continues after your lifetime.

A retained life estate+

Perhaps you like the tax advantages a gift of real estate to our organization would offer, but you want to continue living in your personal residence for your lifetime. You can transfer your personal residence or farm to the Scholarship Foundation but keep the right to occupy (or rent out) the home for the rest of your life. You continue to pay real estate taxes, maintenance fees and insurance on the property. Even though the Scholarship Foundation would not actually take possession of the residence until after your lifetime, since your gift cannot be revoked, you qualify for a federal income tax charitable deduction for a portion of your home's value.

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A charitable remainder unitrust+

You can contribute any type of appreciated real estate you've owned for more than one year, provided it's unmortgaged, in exchange for an income stream for life or a term of up to 20 years. The donated property may be a residence (a personal residence must be vacant upon contribution), undeveloped land, a farm or commercial property. Real estate works well with only certain variations of charitable remainder trusts. Your estate planning attorney, who will draft your trust, can give you more details.

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A charitable lead trust+

This gift can be a wonderful way for you to benefit the Scholarship Foundation and simultaneously transfer appreciated real estate to your family tax-free. You should consider funding the charitable lead trust with real estate that is income-producing and expected to increase in value over the term of the trust.

A donor advised fund+

When you transfer real estate to your donor advised fund, you avoid capital gains taxes and qualify for a federal income tax deduction based on the fair market value of the property when you itemize on your taxes.

Next Steps

Contact our Planned Giving team at 703.549.0060 or plannedgiving@mcsf.org to discuss the possibility of giving real estate to the Scholarship Foundation.
Seek the advice of your financial or legal advisor to make sure this gift fits your goals.
If you include the Scholarship Foundation in your plans, please use our legal name and federal tax ID.

Legal Name: Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation Inc.
Address: 909 N. Washington Street, Suite 400, Alexandria, VA 22314
Federal Tax ID Number: 22-1905062