Charitable gifts through your will are among the easiest ways to make significant future gifts.

How it works:

• You include a bequest provision in your will or revocable trust.

• At your death, The Browning School receives the bequest you specified, which can be a dollar amount or a percentage of your estate.
  
  Benefits

• You may change your bequest or trust designation at any time.

• You control the funding property during your lifetime.

• Your bequest or trust designation may be eligible for a tax deduction by your estate.

• You provide financial resources for the Browning School.

Your retirement accounts, life insurance policies, or savings and investment accounts are very likely a significant portion of your net worth. Because of special tax considerations, they could make an excellent choice for funding a charitable gift by naming the Browning School as a beneficiary of an account.

How it works:

• You name the Browning School as a beneficiary for part or all of your retirement-plan benefits, life insurance policies, or savings and investment accounts.

• Funds are transferred by the plan administrator at your death.

Benefits

• Your bequest or trust designation may be eligible for a tax deduction by your estate.

• You make a significant gift The Browning School.

The information presented is not intended as legal, financial, or tax advice. Please consult your professional advisor to discuss your specific situation.

Comprehensive tax and spending legislation was signed into law on July 4, 2025. Some provisions of the legislation will have a direct impact on charities and their donors and some possibly an indirect impact. Below is a summary of some of those provisions.

• The standard deduction, used by taxpayers whose total itemized deductions are less than the standard deduction, will continue to be adjusted for inflation, which for 2026 is now $16,100 for single filers and $32,200 for a married couple filing jointly. 

• In addition to the regular inflationary adjustment, the standard deduction for some people aged 65 and over will temporarily increase. An additional $6,000 may be added to the standard deduction in the years 2025 to 2028 with a phase- out for those whose adjusted gross income exceeds $75,000 ($150,000 if married and filing jointly). 

• A limited deduction for non-itemizers will be allowed starting in 2026. Those who make charitable gifts but take the standard deduction can deduct an additional $1,000 ($2,000 in the case of a couple filing jointly). It will be necessary to substantiate such gifts using documentation prescribed by the IRS. However, there is no phase-out on the amount of one’s income. 

• For itemizers charitable contributions are deductible only to the extent that contributions exceed 0.5 percent of adjusted gross income starting in 2026.

• A temporary provision that allowed certain cash charitable deductions up to 60 percent of adjusted gross income has now been made permanent.

• Individual taxpayers in the top 37 percent tax bracket can claim a 35 percent tax deduction for charitable gifts instead of the full 37 percent beginning in 2026.

• Starting in 2026, the federal gift- and estate-tax exemption will be increased to $15 million ($30 million when the exemptions of a married couple are combined). There will be annual inflation adjustments starting in 2027. This means that a larger amount can be given to heirs tax-free.

For more information about planned gifts and the John A. Browning Society, please contact Beth Zapatka, Chief Advancement Officer.