Some time ago a client with a real estate dilemma called. He had a big tract of land, and now someone wanted to buy it – for a lot of money – for duck hunting. What?

The problem, though, was that his father had given it to him; and his father had given it to him, and his father had…. Well, you get the idea. And if he sold it now, he was going to get hit with a million-dollar tax liability – literally. Here’s why, in fairly simple terms.

When you sell something you’ve owned for over a year, you have to pay a 20% tax on your capital gains. Your capital gain is the difference between (i) what you sell your property for and (ii) what is called your “basis.” Your basis is (a) what you paid for the asset (less any depreciation or amortization – never mind about that for now); (b) the date of death value if you inherited the property; or (c) the donor’s basis if it was a gift.

In our situation, all of my client’s ancestors had given the property to children, so his basis was the original 1905 purchase price for the land. Land was cheap back then, so he had a huge capital gain. So what to do?

In a meeting with my client, I discovered that he really didn’t need the principal from the sale; he was just looking for retirement income. He didn’t have any children, so he wasn’t concerned about leaving an inheritance to anyone. He was a fairly religious person and was actively involved in his church. So I recommended a charitable remainder unitrust. A what?

A charitable remainder unitrust (a “CRUT”) is an irrevocable trust that is tax-exempt. If a CRUT sells an asset, there is no tax on the sale. With a CRUT, the donor can reserve a kind of an “income” interest over his or her lifetime or for a period of years not to exceed 20. The “income” interest is a fixed percentage of the annually recalculated fair market value of the trust principal. The percentage (called a “unitrust percentage”) must be at least 5% and is capped out based on a math formula. During the donor’s lifetime, he or she receives payments from the unitrust (which are taxable). The principal, though, continues to grow on a tax-free basis like an IRA. On the donor’s death, the principal goes to the designated charity. Pretty nifty under the right circumstances.

The CRUT was just the right vehicle for my client. He was able to transfer the land into a unitrust while retaining the “income” right for his lifetime. Yes, he was taxed on the income, but the principal grew tax-free. When he dies, his church is going to receive a significant gift. Because of that, on creating the CRUT, my client was entitled to a charitable contribution deduction. It isn’t a deduction for 100% of the value of the donated asset. Rather, it is a deduction for what is called the present value of the lifetime stream of income. Warning: calculating all of these things can result in headaches. You’ll want to talk to an attorney or an accountant knowledgeable in this area.

I think this was a good outcome. The client was happy. The church was happy. The only losers in this scenario were the ducks. Call if you have any questions.