Donating Stock to Humanitarian Charities

Quick-reference guidance here draws on the gift-of-stock explainer from Life for Relief and Development and the stock-giving overview from Thrivent.

To donate stock to charity, transfer the shares directly from your brokerage account to the charity’s brokerage account instead of selling them first. Direct transfer generally avoids recognizing the capital gain, and you can deduct the gift only if you itemize.

This guide covers the transfer itself and a cash-versus-stock comparison for relief charities. For wider advice on choosing a cause and giving safely, see how to donate to humanitarian charities.

Check your shares and the charity first

A stock gift works best when the shares have risen in value, have been held long enough and sit in a standard brokerage account. Appreciated securities are shares worth more than their original cost basis, so the gap between what you paid and today’s value is the gain you are hoping to keep out of a sale.

Shares held a year or less

Life for Relief and Development’s guidance notes that the IRS generally considers investment property held for more than one year to be long-term capital-gain property. Merrill Edge frames the direct-gift idea around shares held for more than a year that have risen in value. If you bought the shares more recently, the long-term advantage is not yet in place. Either wait until the holding period passes, if your timing allows, or compare the gift with a cash donation before you instruct your broker.

Finding out whether a humanitarian charity accepts stock

Many charities publish brokerage details on their websites, as Thrivent points out. Start with the giving or gift-planning pages of the relief organization you have in mind. Life for Relief and Development is one example of a relief charity that publishes stock transfer account details, so you can see what a complete set of instructions looks like.

Do not rely on a cached page or a forum post. The charity’s own guidance advises requesting current information rather than relying on an old webpage. If a charity shows no stock instructions at all, email its gift office and ask. Our comparison of charity navigator vs guidestar can also help you vet the organization before you send a large gift.

Private or restricted securities

Standard publicly traded shares move most easily. The charity’s guidance cautions that private, restricted or other difficult-to-transfer securities may require additional review, documentation and valuation. If that describes your holding, contact the charity before you start.

Cash or stock: how the numbers compare

Stock beats cash when you hold appreciated shares for more than a year and itemize your deductions. Cash is simpler when you hold no such shares or need the gift to arrive quickly.

What a sale costs you

If you sell appreciated shares and give the proceeds, the gain is taxed first. Schwab notes that the gain on long-term holdings is taxed at up to 20%, plus an additional 3.8% in net investment income tax. Thrivent adds that you do not pay capital gains tax on stock donations that would otherwise be owed if you sold the stock yourself. The shares go to the charity with the gain untouched, which is the core reason to choose stock over cash.

A worked example

Schwab’s illustrative 2026 example involves a donor in the 37% tax bracket whose shares have a $100,000 basis and are worth $750,000. Selling first and giving the cash produces tax savings of $49,280. Giving the shares directly produces $258,125. Treat those results as an illustration only. Your outcome depends on your bracket, your basis and your other income. The pattern is what matters for relief giving: the more appreciation the shares carry, the more a direct gift protects.

Deduction limits and who benefits

Stock contributions are generally limited to 30% of adjusted gross income, according to Thrivent, while cash gifts face a limit of 60%. Thrivent also notes that certain stock gifts to qualifying organizations may be deducted up to a 50% limit. Those are ceilings, not targets. You need not give up to the cap, but a donor planning a very large gift relative to income may find cash easier to deduct in one year. The deduction is available only if you itemize rather than take the standard deduction, as Merrill Edge explains. That applies equally to cash, so a donor who does not itemize gains no deduction from either route and should weigh only the capital gains saving.

Transfer walkthrough

A direct transfer moves shares between brokerage accounts, so most of the work is getting exact details right. Allow extra time, because stock transfers can take time, particularly when additional paperwork or approvals are required.

1. Request current instructions. Contact the charity’s gift office and ask for its latest brokerage details, even if you found a page online.
2. Collect the receiving details. The instructions typically include the receiving brokerage’s account name and a Depository Trust Company (DTC) number, when applicable. Copy them exactly.
3. Prepare your own details. Be ready to confirm information such as the stock ticker, the number of shares and the receiving organization.
4. Submit the request to your broker. Use your brokerage account’s transfer or donation process and ask the broker to move the shares to the charity, not to sell them.
5. Tell the charity. Let its gift office know what to expect so it can match the incoming shares to your name.
6. Confirm receipt. Ask the charity to confirm that the gift arrived and keep its written acknowledgment.

Begin well before any year-end deadline you are aiming for, since a delay on either side can push the gift into the next tax year.

Paperwork and records

A stock gift is a noncash contribution, so your tax return needs more than a bank-style receipt. Thrivent explains that you report the donation to the IRS with Form 8283, and the charity’s guidance describes Form 8283 as covering certain noncash charitable contributions. Check the form’s current instructions against the value of your gift to see whether it applies.

Keep the charity’s written acknowledgment, the transfer confirmation from your broker and your cost basis records together. Those documents show what you gave, to whom and when. If you prefer to keep your name out of the charity’s newsletters, read how to donate anonymously to charity before you transfer.

Frequently asked questions