1/9 A quick thread on how best to donate your crypto earnings to any/all US 501c3 charities, while maximizing your donation and minimizing taxes: start your own donor advised fund (DAF).
2/9 Fidelity Charitable (@FidelityChrtbl) is the easiest/most trustworthy, with one fatal flaw — restricted to Bitcoin/Ethereum donations only (cue maximalism ire here): fidelitycharitable.org Big issue if you hold other cryptos, as often taxable event when betw cryptos
3/9 DAF approach lets you get a tax deduction immediately and allows the gross amount to be donated. If instead, donate after selling your crypto, you'll pay taxes on the gain when you sell, and can only donate the net amount. DAF also lets you determine exact charities later.
4/9 All DAF transfers at Fidelity are held in traditional assets (stocks, bonds) so you won't get any future crypto upside/downside once the transfer is finalized. Transfer only if you are comfortable with that.
5/9 Once you create an account at Fidelity Charitable, you have to submit this Bitcoin transfer form which has to be mailed or faxed (yes, you read that right) to @FidelityChrtbl. dropbox.com/s/y9u1icqdc17h…
6/9 @FidelityChrtbl takes a week to confirm receipt of Bitcoin (and you thought ACH was slow?); plan ahead if end of year, as they won't count contributions made in the last 7-10 days for that tax year
7/9 Based on the IRS's crypto rules, Bitcoin requires a "qualified" appraisal. This costs (comically) ~$500 - $1,500 per incident from an accredited agent (who looks at high/lows at a few exchanges on transfer date); in short, batch your charitable giving to DAF to minimize costs
8/9 One example appraiser is charitablesolutionsllc.com/bryan-clontz/; also, then have to file IRS Form 8283 with your taxes: irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8…
9/9 For others who've given, feel free to add other suggestions/comments as a reply to this tweet, including other options beyond Fidelity. Especially interested in an option that accepts more than just Bitcoin/Ethereum.
