End-of-Year Giving - IRA Charitable Distribution

There is a special tax benefit available to owners of a Traditional IRA who are 70 1⁄2 or older. You may instruct your IRA Plan Administrator to distribute directly to a public charity, such as St. Katharine Drexel, up to and including $100,000 without the distribution being included in taxable income.

The distribution does count toward the IRA owner’s Required Minimum Distribution. The donor does not receive a charitable deduction, but the transfer is not treated as an income distribution to the donor. The donor enjoys the equivalent of a charitable deduction by avoiding the tax that ordinarily would have been due on an IRA income distribution. This is a benefit if you itemize or not.

If you have any questions on this, talk to your accountant or tax advisor.