When it comes to stocks and investments, the focus is usually on how to buy or sell shares. However, there may be times when you want to gift stock, either to family members, charities, or other individuals or organizations. The process of changing stock ownership is more complex than simply giving someone a piece of paper, and depending on how you own your shares, you’ll need to follow a different process to complete your gift or transfer. Keep reading to learn more about how to gift stocks.
If you own stocks, you may want to transfer ownership to someone else at some point. This could be for a variety of reasons, such as gifting stocks to family members, donating stocks to charity, or simply because you no longer wish to own them. Whatever the reason, it’s important to know how to gift stocks so that the process goes smoothly.
The first thing you need to do is find out how your stocks are held. If they are held in a brokerage account, you will need to contact the broker and fill out the necessary paperwork. If your stocks are held in a physical certificate form, you will need to sign the back of the certificate and have it delivered to the new owner.
For either type of stock, you will also need to determine the value of the stocks on the date of the transfer. This is important for tax purposes, as the recipient will be responsible for paying any capital gains taxes on the stocks.
Once you have taken care of the paperwork and tax considerations, you can then focus on delivering the stocks to the new owner. If you are giving stocks to family members, you may want to do this in person so that you can explain any conditions or restrictions attached to the gift. For other recipients, such as charities, you can simply send the stocks by mail or electronically transfer them.
Gifting stocks can be a great way to show your generosity or support for a cause. By following these steps, you can ensure that the process goes smoothly and that everyone involved is aware of their responsibilities.
Transferring Ownership of Stocks is just one of the concepts needed for the FINRA SIE. Don’t know where to start? Check out Achievable’s FINRA SIE Course to get started today!
