Introduction To Charity/Tzedaka: On What to Give

Introduction To CHARITY/TZEDAKA: ON WHAT TO GIVE
Give charity on 10\% of your net, after-tax income or received gifts of money (cash, checks, or equivalent).
 
Items or Material Gifts
If you receive or inherit items or material gifts that you use, you do not need to give charity from their value. If the items or material gifts were intended for sale and you sold them, give to charity 10\% of the money you receive.
 
Trusts, Funds, and Securities

A trust or other inherited or gifted fund does not pay charity on money it receives or earns. Only the recipients give charity, when get they get any money.
If the trusts or funds are intended for sale and you sold them, pay 10\% on the value you received to charity.
 
You do pay 10\% on inherited or gifted securities once you have inherited them, even if you do not intend to sell them. If you do not have enough cash to give 10\% of the securities' value, you should sell 10\% and give that money to charity. The remaining securities do not incur a requirement of owing charity, whether they increase or decrease in value in the future.
 
Heir: Charity on Money or Property for Sale
You must give to charity 10\% of the value of an inheritance or gift of:
  • Money, and
  • Property, including a building or house, that you to sell (but not if you will keep or use it for yourself, such as to live in). If you do not have enough cash to pay 10\% of the building's value, you may pay it off over time.
Note If  you inherit (or will inherit) from a person who died, you are required to pay for (or help pay for) the dead person's burial. You may not deduct this money for burial or funeral expenses from your ma'aser charity.