IRA Gift Opportunity Restored through 2009

Congress has passed a law permitting IRA owners age 70½ and older to make distributions to qualified organizations such as ours of up to $100,000 through 2009. An earlier law permitting IRA gifts expired at the end of 2007. Income tax deductions are not allowed for “qualified charitable distributions,” but donors, especially those who do not itemize their deductions, may save taxes anyway. Gifts to charity can be made with funds that have never been taxed. Withdrawals from IRAs are usually taxed at ordinary income tax rates (up to 35%).

To make a gift from your IRA, contact your IRA trustee or custodian. State that you wish to have a distribution check issued in our name and mailed to our office with a note identifying you as the donor. It’s important that you also notify us so we can coordinate with your IRA administrator to ensure that you receive the necessary receipt. For sample language making a request to your IRA administrator, click here, or for notifying Northwestern, click here.

Are you ineligible to make IRA gifts? People of any age can name us as partial or 100% death beneficiary of an IRA, 401(k) or 403(b) plan or other retirement account and avoid both income taxes and “death taxes” that may be payable by your heirs. You also can leave your retirement account to a trust that will pay income for life to a spouse or other family member, with later benefit for our programs.

We encourage you to call our office with questions concerning any gifts from retirement plans, including qualified IRA contributions and beneficiary arrangements. For more information in an easy to read brochure format, click here.