Brad Gornto: The Tax Strategy Few Advisors Know About
Sold a business, converted a Roth, or had a monster bonus year? There's a nook in the tax code fewer than 5% of advisors have ever heard of, and it can potentially create a significant current-year tax deduction for charitable giving you were already planning to make.
In this episode, Leonard and Brad Gornto discuss:
Reversionary charitable lead annuity trusts (iCLATs)
Ideal client profile and liquidity-event triggers
Present-value deduction math and AGI limits
iCLAT vs. donor-advised funds and irrevocable estate trusts
Guardrails, costs, and retained control
Key Takeaways:
The deduction isn't based on what you transfer; it's based on the present value of your charitable promise, which means a $500,000 pledge over ten years can generate roughly $375,000 of current deduction.
The best proposals don't ask clients to change anything. Someone already tithing $20,000 a year can commit to 25 more years of the same and capture a $281,000 deduction, worth roughly $150,000 in tax savings in a high-tax state.
Unlike a donor-advised fund, where every dollar of growth belongs to the charity forever, growth above the promised payments reverts to the client at the end of the term.
Some charitable strategies need to be arranged before a transaction closes; Brad explains how an iCLAT can potentially be implemented after an income event, even late in the calendar year.
Control is the whole point. It's a grantor trust, the client is trustee, and the existing advisor manages it like any other account, but the guardrails are real: no margin, no personal guarantees, no personal-use assets, no self-dealing.
As estate-tax exemptions have increased, Brad explains why some clients may place greater emphasis on current income-tax savings than estate-tax savings.
“The charitable deduction is not based on what you transfer to the ICLAT, which is extremely bizarre. It's based on the present value of the charitable promise over a period of time.” - Brad Gornto
About Brad Gornto: Brad Gornto has practiced law throughout Florida for 26 years in the areas of complex estate planning, income tax, charitable planning, probate, trust administration, and business law. An attorney, tax strategist, and charitable planning specialist based in Ormond Beach, Florida, he specializes in helping individuals and families navigate sophisticated tax and charitable planning strategies. Since discovering the iCLAT strategy early in his career in 2003, Brad has focused on its application as a reversionary charitable lead annuity trust designed to provide a current income tax deduction while supporting charitable giving and potentially returning the remaining assets to the donor. He holds degrees from Florida State University and the University of Florida College of Law, as well as a master's degree in tax law from the University of Miami. Brad is also a devoted father of four: Bryce, Owen, Joel, and Daisy.
Connect with Brad Gornto:
Website: http://www.iclat.net
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradgornto/
Connect with Leonard Raskin:
Website: https://www.raskinglobal.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonardraskin/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RaskinGlobal
Email: lraskin@raskinglobal.com
Show notes by Podcastologist: Francine Poblete
Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.