Endow KY Tax Credit

ensuring a strong future

Your gift to an endowed fund at Horizon Community Foundation helps the nonprofits that serve our Northern Kentucky community build for the future. Your donation also allows you to leverage the gifts of others through a pooled endowed fund.

The Endow Kentucky Tax Credit Program offers you a unique opportunity to receive a state tax credit toward your Kentucky Income Tax (individual, corporate, or limited liability) after making a contribution to permanent endowment funds at Horizon Community Foundation. Endowment funds are for those who want to give today and long into the future, as they are held in perpetuity and produce an annual payout.

A total of $1,000,000 in tax credits is available to taxpayers, individuals, and corporations through the Endow Kentucky Tax Credit Program. You are eligible to receive up to a 20% income tax credit (not to exceed $10,000 per individual/entity or $20,000 per married couple filing jointly) for your endowed gift per taxable year. A new allotment of tax credits is available on July 1 each year.

Your gift to an endowed fund lasts well into the future. It is a building block on which our nonprofits build their services in Northern Kentucky.

HOW DOES THE TAX CREDIT IMPACT YOU?

To determine the personal impact of receiving your tax credit, you should consult your financial advisor or accountant. Any tax credit that cannot be used in the current tax year may be carried forward for five years. This is a tax credit, which lowers your tax bill dollar for dollar regardless of your tax bracket. Federal and state deductions also apply for these gifts in addition to this tax credit.

WHAT GIFTS QUALIFY FOR THE ENDOW KENTUCKY TAX CREDIT?

Gifts of cash or appreciated assets must be made to a qualified community foundation, like Horizon Community Funds. Gifts to non-endowed funds do not qualify for the Endow Kentucky Tax Credit.

Your gift may be made to any of the funds at Horizon Community Foundation that are listed below (no minimum gift required), or you can establish a new endowment to support your preferred Kentucky nonprofit organization, or educational or religious institution. The minimum contribution to open a new endowed charitable fund is $25,000. The minimum to establish an endowed scholarship fund is $50,000.

leveraging your endow ky tax credit

We currently partner with many Northern Kentucky-serving nonprofit entities and causes to operate their endowed funds

HOW TO APPLY FOR THE ENDOW KENTUCKY TAX CREDIT

Please use the following steps to ensure you receive your Endow Kentucky Tax Credit:

  1. File an application for preliminary authorization of the tax credit with the Kentucky Department of Revenue.

  2. After completing the approved preliminary authorization form, please email a copy to Nancy Grayson at ngrayson@horizoncfnky.org. Please keep a copy for your records. Horizon Community Foundation will submit your application as a courtesy when the application window opens on July 1. Timeliness is critical as these tax credits have been completely allocated during the first week of July historically.

  3. Within 30 days of receiving the approval letter from the Kentucky Department of Revenue, you must make the contribution to an endowed fund at Horizon Community Foundation of Northern Kentucky.

  4. Within 10 days of making the gift, Horizon Community Foundation will send proof of the gift to the Kentucky Department of Revenue by filing the Notice of Endow Kentucky Tax Credit and Certification form. The Department of Revenue will then review the provided proof and issue a letter of final approval to you as the donor.

We’ve utilized the Endow Kentucky Tax Credit program in the past as it’s a great way to enhance gifts to deserving nonprofits. Last year, we decided to seed a newly formed fund set up for one of our favorite charities, Covington Partners, so others could add to this designated account at Horizon Community Foundation. Since we transferred appreciated stock, we not only earned the 20% Endow Kentucky Tax Credit and charitable tax deduction for the full fair market value of the stock, but we were also able to avoid the capital gains tax on the appreciation. We hope others will consider making an addition to the fund this year and the Endow Kentucky Tax Credit Program is the perfect way to maximize such gifts. The Horizon team made the whole process very easy!

Chuck & Julie Geisen Scheper, Endow KY Donors

The Endow Kentucky Tax Credit has become a key element to our family’s giving strategy. As a donor, it allows Shelley and I to provide additional support to organizations in Northern Kentucky that mean the most to us. I have also helped organizations that I sit on the board of to open endowment funds via Horizon Community Funds to attract private donors to support the different missions. We all want to give for the right reasons, but the Endow Kentucky Tax Credit helps those who are willing to give to do it in the most tax efficient way possible. This program has been a wonderful investment to strengthen our NKY community for years to come.

Mickey and Shelley Fritz, Endow KY Donors