Gifts of Livestock
Gifts of livestock are a unique and underutilized way to make a charitable gift. Using livestock to make a gift to North Dakota State University can be a wonderful way to invest in the future while achieving tax savings.
Benefits of Gifting Livestock
For farm and ranch operators, gifting livestock directly, rather than selling the livestock and making a gift from the proceeds, may provide a more significant tax savings.
Gifting livestock allows you to avoid the sale of the commodity as income, while the production costs may still be deductible.
Reducing taxable income may provide advantages such as minimizing or eliminating self-employment tax and reducing adjusted gross income.
How to Make a Gift of Livestock
- Consult with your tax or financial advisor. The NDSU Foundation and its employees do not provide tax or legal advice.
- Contact the NDSU Foundation at 800.279.8971 or mail, fax or email a letter from the producer regarding a gift of livestock to the NDSU Foundation to ensure the proper steps are taken for your gift of livestock.
- Deliver the livestock to your local sale barn or other market and tell them that you wish to transfer ownership to the NDSU Foundation.
- Deliver the livestock to market on our behalf and provide a copy of your Letter from the Producer Regarding Gift of Livestock and the completed Instructions to Sale Barn for Gifts of Livestock to the sale barn.
- Notify the NDSU Foundation at 800.279.8971 when the transfer is made, indicating where the livestock were delivered.
- The NDSU Foundation will then order the sale of the livestock.
- The NDSU Foundation will acknowledge your gift following the sale.
