First Fruits - Catholic Rural Life

First Fruits

“Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first of all your produce; then will your barns be filled with plenty, with new wine your vats will overflow.”

Proverbs 3:9

Sharing the first produce of the harvest… more effectively
(Grain, Corn, Beans, Cattle, Cotton, etc.)

Cash basis farmers who harvest their crops in the fall and make their plans for spring planting often find that making a charitable gift of an appreciated asset (e.g. crops or cattle) is a great way to do tax planning. As with all charity and tax planning, one should first consult financial and legal advisers. The example below, illustrates how offering your first fruits to God’s work (e.g. Catholic Rural Life) might be a good decision for you.

The primary reasons such a gift might be advantageous:

  • Reduction of income to the extent of the value of the commodity.
  • Deduction of production costs from the past growing season.
  • In many cases, elimination of the self-employment tax attributed to the commodity.
  • Effective reduction of adjusted gross income, helping reduce the income on which tax is assessed, and allowing larger giving not limited to 50% of adjusted gross income.

And…it’s simple

To make an offering from your “First Fruits”, contact our office at (651) 962-5955 or access this simple Deed of Gift form and share it with your elevator or the purchaser of your harvest. Ownership of the appreciated asset is transferred to Catholic Rural Life directly–prior to sale–thereby ensuring the most favorable tax treatment for you.

Once you share our contact information, the rest of the transaction is between CRL and your elevator or whomever is purchasing your harvest. We will inform you of the full value of the donation after its sale.

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