Frequently Asked Questions » Home

Does PETA accept stock donations?
Yes, donating stock is an easy, wonderful way to help fund PETA’s programs to end animal suffering. If you’d like to donate stock, please contact Scott VanValkenburg at ScottV@petaf.org or 757-962-0317.

What are the tax benefits of donating appreciated stock?
If you have stock that you have owned for more than one year, and it has appreciated since you purchased it, you can save on the capital gains tax you would owe if you sold it yourself by donating the stock to PETA. And since PETA is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, you will be entitled to an income tax deduction for the full current market value of your gift, to the extent allowed by law.

Here is an example: Ms. B. Nice purchased 100 shares of ABC stock three years ago at $50 per share, or $5,000. This stock is now worth $100 per share, or $10,000. If Ms. Nice sold the stock, she would pay capital gains taxes on the $5,000 of appreciation. If Ms. Nice donates the stock to PETA, she is entitled to a charitable deduction of $10,000 from her taxes and pays no capital gains tax.

Plus, you can deduct stock donations equal to an amount of up to 30 percent of your adjusted gross income, and any excess deductible amount can be carried over for as long as five years to offset income or capital gains taxes.
Another option for using your “long-term” appreciated stock to fight the exploitation of animals is to donate the stock to PETA and then immediately repurchase the shares on the market. Not only will you be able to claim a charitable deduction for the full fair-market value of your gift, you will also minimize any capital gains tax when you eventually sell the replacement shares.

Here is an example: Ms. B. Nice purchased 1,000 shares of XYZ stock three years ago for $3,000. The stock has a current value of $44,000. She donates the 1,000 shares to PETA and is thereby able to claim a charitable deduction for the full fair-market value of $44,000 while avoiding capital gains taxes on the profit of $41,000.

Ms. Nice then immediately buys 1,000 shares of XYZ stock for $44,000. If, after holding the replacement shares for more than one year, Ms. Nice decides to sell out and the shares are then worth $50,000, she would pay capital gains taxes on only the $6,000 of profit garnered by the replacement shares rather than the $47,000 of profit that she has made overall on the XYZ stock. The other $41,000 of profit is never taxed.

As always, we suggest that you consult with your independent financial, tax, or legal advisor for specific help with your particular situation, as PETA does not provide financial, tax, or legal advice. But if you would like more information about the various ways that your stock holdings can be used before year’s end to benefit animals—and you—please contact Scott VanValkenburg at ScottV@petaf.org or 757-962-0317.

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What if I have stock that has depreciated?
If you took a loss in the stock market, you can still turn it into a win for animals. By selling stock at a loss and then making a donation to PETA of the same amount of money that the stock was sold for, you can do the following:

1) Claim a charitable deduction for the gift.
2) Deduct the stock’s decrease in value from your other income, thereby reducing the taxes you pay next April.

You can deduct up to $1,500 if you are single and $3,000 if you are married, but any amount of loss above that can be carried over to future years until completely deducted.

Here’s an example: Ms. B. Nice purchased 100 shares of XYZ stock three years ago at $50 per share, or $5,000, but it’s now worth only $20 per share, or $2,000. Ms. Nice doesn’t expect the value of the stock to go up anytime soon. If Ms. Nice were to donate the depreciated stock to PETA, she could claim a $2,000 deduction. But if Ms. Nice sells the stock and donates the $2,000 value to PETA, she can also claim a $3,000 capital loss deduction ($30 loss per share x 100 shares). Assuming that she has no capital gains, she would be able to deduct $1,500 from her 2002 income (if she is married and filing jointly, she could deduct the complete $3,000) and carry over the remaining $1,500 capital loss to deduct from income or capital gains in 2003 or future years.

As always, we suggest that you consult with your independent financial, tax, or legal advisor for specific help with your particular situation, as PETA does not provide financial, tax, or legal advice. But if you would like more information about the various ways that your stock holdings can be used before year’s end to benefit animals—and you—please contact Scott VanValkenburg at ScottV@petaf.org or 757-962-0317.

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What if I have stock in one of the companies that PETA is campaigning against (e.g., Procter & Gamble)?
If we receive enough stock in one of the companies against which we are campaigning, we may use it introduce a shareholder resolution to pressure the company to improve conditions for animals. Shareholder resolutions provide an opportunity to educate management, boards, and other shareholders about important issues, and they often result in change. For example, a shareholder resolution that we filed with McDonald’s helped achieve improvements in the company’s animal-treatment guidelines.

Resolutions also typically generate lots of media coverage, which can help pressure companies into offering significant concessions. They also give us an important chance to inform the investment community (e.g., portfolio managers of mutual funds and industry analysts) about a particular industry’s animal abuse. If a CEO has resisted constructive dialogue with PETA, a shareholder resolution allows us to take our case directly to the most influential stakeholders, thus generating greater corporate accountability.

PETA management constantly evaluates the number of shares that we have in such companies and determines at any given moment whether shares should be held for such purposes or sold to raise urgently needed funds for our campaigns.

For more information, please contact Scott VanValkenburg at ScottV@petaf.org or 757-962-0317.

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