We are headed into the final quarter of 2020, and quickly approaching the end of the year. Wow! Where has the year gone? It seems like just yesterday we were shaking off the cold of winter and looking forward to Easter. Maybe all of the things that have made this year so unusual have sped up time!
This is an important season for Missouri Baptist Children’s Home (MBCH). More than half of our financial support is generously donated in the last quarter of the year. This support helps us proclaim the good news of hope, healing and restoration that comes through Jesus Christ to the children, youth and families in our care.
Many of these donations come in the form of Missouri state benevolent tax credits. Benevolent tax credits are tax credits that our legislative and executive branches have created by law in order to give donors the opportunity to determine how a portion of their Missouri state taxes are spent.
MBCH has access to several of these tax credits as a result of the scope of ministry work we do across Missouri. We have Residential Treatment Agency tax credits that we receive for the work we do in therapeutic group homes. We have Developmental Disability Providers tax credits that we receive for the residential work we do with the developmentally disabled. We have Maternity Home tax credits that we receive for the residential alternative to abortion ministries we have across Missouri – including The LIGHT House in Kansas City. Finally, we have Pregnancy Resource tax credits for the alternative to abortion community-based ministries we provide across Missouri. All of these credits are 50% which means the donor receives 50% of the donation against the Missouri state taxes they owe. This greatly increases the tax benefit over a more traditional charitable contribution.
Here is an example: John D. and Ima Baptist make a $1,000 tax credit gift to MBCH. They are in the 25% federal tax bracket and they itemize their tax deductions.
$1,000 Donation
$125 federal deduction
$59 state deduction
$500 Missouri tax credit
$684 total tax benefit
Even if John and Ima choose not to itemize due to the new, much higher standard deduction, they will still receive $500 of their $1000 gift as a tax credit that dollar-for-dollar decreases the amount of state taxes they owe!
If you are interested in making a difference in the lives of hurting children, youth and families through Missouri state income tax credits please make your checks payable to “MBCH-CFM” and write “tax credit” in the memo line. If you would like to make a tax credit donation to The LIGHT House please make your checks payable to “The LIGHT House” and write “tax credit” in the memo line.
Thank you so much for your faithful generosity, year-in and year-out, that makes an eternal difference in the lives of “the least of these”!