Changing Lives through Gift Planning

Charitable Distribution from an IRA

This summary describes the important advantages and steps in making a qualified charitable distribution from your Individual Retirement Account (IRA), commonly referred to as a IRA charitable rollover. 

Legislation enacted in December 2015 authorized charitable gifts from IRAs. Among the provisions of the bill is an exclusion from gross income for income tax purposes of up to $100,000 (for each IRA account owner) for “qualified charitable distributions” from an IRA. The distribution will count toward an individual’s Required Minimum Distribution (RMD). The statutory requirements for a “qualified charitable distribution” are as follows:

• The distribution must be made from an IRA (other retirement accounts are not eligible).
• The recipient must be an eligible charitable organization.
• The IRA’s owner must be at least 70 1/2 years of age.
• The distribution must be made directly to the charity by December 31.
• The distribution must otherwise be fully deductible as a charitable contribution.
• The distribution must otherwise be included in gross income.