Recently, Congress passed and the President signed a package of legislation which includes a limited-time provision for qualified charitable contributions from Individual Retirement Accounts to charity. The provision expires December 31, 2009 (unless extended) and is retroactive to the beginning of 2008.

You have a wonderful opportunity to help us. Here's how:

• Individuals aged 70 ½ and older (at the time of the transfer) may transfer up to $100,000 directly from their IRA to a qualified charity each year.
• The charitable distribution counts toward Minimum Required Distribution requirements.
• Charitable distributions may be made in addition to any other charitable giving you may have planned.
• The distributions must be made from your IRA custodian directly to a qualified charity. Generally, IRA custodians have a distribution form that may be obtained by mail or downloaded from their website.
• Please note that, since the funds in IRA accounts were deductible from taxable income at the time they were deposited, the distribution to charity can not generate an additional tax deduction. However, because the distribution from the IRA to charity avoids the taxation that would ordinarily occur on a minimum required distribution, even taxpayers who don't itemize their deductions can benefit from making such a gift.
• Each state has different tax laws, so donors will need to consult with their own tax advisors regarding potential state tax liability.

The provision does include some limitations. For instance, distributions may not be used to fund Donor Advised Funds, Charitable Remainder Trusts or Charitable Gift Annuities. And, state tax treatments may differ. Despite the obvious benefits of this provision, there may be more tax-efficient ways for you to make a gift. If you are interested in discussing your options under this unique provision, please contact us - see contact page.

As always, we recommend you seek the advice of your tax and/or legal counsel before deciding on a course of action.

Thank you for your interest and support!

Please note, individual financial circumstances will vary. The information on this site does not constitute legal or tax advice. As with all tax and estate planning, please consult your attorney or estate specialist. All material is copyrighted and is for viewing purposes only. The content in this Planned Giving section has been developed by Future Focus. Please report any problems to the webmaster.

To see an example letter of the type you might consider sending to your attourney or estate specialist, click here.