Tax-Deductible Vacations December 22, 1999January 28, 2017 Muriel Horacek: “Glad you finally put in a plug for Earthwatch. Here’s another suggestion: I pay for my Earthwatch trips (have done 23 and will be going to Israel and Peru on my next two) with appreciated stock, thus avoiding capital gains. And I also pay for my teenage grandchildren to go on Earthwatch expeditions (one did scuba diving on a coral reef study and turtle tracking on St. Croix; another did grizzly bear research in Montana). How else to give a grandchild a tax-deductible, worthwhile gift!”