Giving is an optional household feature for charitable contributions that should be tracked separately from ordinary spending. Enable it in Profile → Household, then enter contributions in Profile → Cash Flow → Giving.

Use Giving when charitable strategy is a meaningful part of the plan or client conversation. Leave it off when separate tracking would add noise without changing the analysis.

Open Profile Household and turn on the Giving setting. This makes the Giving experience available in Cash Flow and allows related summaries and Guide components to use the entries.

When Giving is off, existing Giving records remain stored and Giving can disappear from active cash-flow presentation. The setting is not a universal calculation switch: tax scenarios can still derive tax-deductible Giving from the saved records. Review or update those entries when they should no longer affect tax work.

Open Cash Flow Giving and create a separate entry when the recipient, tax treatment, amount method, or frequency differs.

Each entry can include:

Available amount frequencies can include Weekly, Bi-Weekly, Twice a Month, Monthly, Quarterly, Semi-Annual, and Annual. Match the frequency to the amount entered.

For percentage-based Giving, choose Total Household Income or the correct income source. If that income changes, review the resolved gift amount.

Giving is modeled separately from ordinary spending. Make sure the household spending assumption does not also include the same charitable amount when the planning surface expects Giving to be separate.

When reconciling transaction data, remember that a charitable transaction can appear in Spending activity while the planning-level Giving record represents the recurring assumption. Confirm how your household spending total was constructed.

The Tax deductible setting identifies entries that can inform tax planning. It does not determine whether the contribution is legally deductible in the client's specific circumstances.

Confirm the recipient, contribution type, substantiation, limits, and selected tax scenario. A qualified charitable distribution, donor-advised-fund contribution, cash gift, and non-cash gift can have different planning treatment even when each is charitable.

Add the Giving component to a client Guide when the client should see the charitable plan. Depending on the component and display settings, it can show entries, amounts, deductible designation, and totals.

If Giving is disabled, the component can hide or render no active content. If no entries exist, the Guide can show an empty state. Preview before delivery rather than assuming the template behaves as intended.

Use advisor text to explain the strategy or next action. A table of gifts does not explain a bunching strategy, donor-advised-fund recommendation, or qualified charitable distribution by itself.

Use a flat amount for a fixed commitment, such as a monthly pledge or planned annual grant. Use percentage of income when the client defines Giving in relation to earnings.

For a future or retirement strategy, check whether the linked income continues during the modeled period. A current wage-based percentage does not automatically describe a retirement distribution strategy.

Confirm:

If a total looks wrong, inspect each entry, income link, frequency, and household setting before adding a compensating value.