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Take Advantage of the IRA-to-Charity Provision

On December 22, 2017, The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law. The information in this article predates the tax reform legislation and may not apply to tax returns starting in the 2018 tax year. You may wish to speak to your tax advisor about the latest tax law. This publication is provided for your convenience and does not constitute legal advice. This publication is protected by copyright.

Take Advantage of the IRA-to-Charity Provision
Article Highlights
  • IRA-to-Charity Transfer Provision Made Permanent 
  • Required Minimum Distribution 
  • How the Provision Plays Out on a Tax Return 
  • Tax Benefits of the Provision 
Individuals age 70.5 or over—who must withdraw annual required minimum distributions (RMDs) from their IRAs—will be pleased to learn that the temporary provision allowing taxpayers to transfer up to $100,000 annually from their IRAs to qualified charities has been made permanent. If you are age 70.5 or over and have an IRA, taking advantage of this provision may provide significant tax benefits, especially if you would be making a large donation to a charity anyway.

Here is how this provision, if utilized, plays out on a tax return:

(1) The IRA distribution is excluded from income;
(2) The distribution counts towards the taxpayer's RMD for the year; and
(3) The distribution does NOT count as a charitable contribution.

At first glance, this may not appear to provide a tax benefit. However, by excluding the distribution, a taxpayer with itemized deductions lowers his or her adjusted gross income (AGI), which helps for other tax breaks (or punishments) that are pegged at AGI levels, such as medical expenses, passive losses, taxable Social Security income, and so on. In addition, non-itemizers essentially receive the benefit of a charitable contribution to offset the IRA distribution.

If you think that this tax provision may affect you and would like to explore its possibilities, please call this office.



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