The charitable IRA rollover, created by the Pension Protection Act of 2006 and extended through 2009, was allowed to expire on January 1, 2010. On December 17, 2010, it was extended by Congress for two years retroactive to January, 2010 as part of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. It will expire (unless extended) December, 2011. When it was passed, due to the lack of time remaining in calendar 2010, the law allowed donors to elect to treat IRA rollover gifts made in January, 2011 as if they were made on December 31, 2010. The limitation of $100,000 for each year (2010 and 2011) applies and the January, 2011 distribution may have been counted toward the required minimum distribution for 2010 if so elected. Distributions must be from a traditional IRA or Roth IRA directly to public charities. The provisions are as follows:
Age Limitations. Taxpayers age 70½ and older are required to make annual distributions from their IRAs which are then included in the taxpayers’ adjusted gross income (AGI) and subject to taxes. The IRA Charitable Rollover permits those taxpayers, age 70½ and older, to make donations directly to public charities from their traditional IRA or Roth IRA without counting them as part of their AGI and, consequently, without paying taxes on them.
Amount Limitation. Combined charitable IRA rollover contributions for a donor cannot exceed $100,000 in any one single tax year.
Eligible Charities. Charitable contributions from an IRA must be sent directly to a public charity that is not a supporting organization by the IRA trustee. Defining it as a public charity excludes charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts.
Eligible Retirement Accounts. Rollover distributions can only be made from traditional IRAs or Roth IRAs. Charitable donations from 403(b) plans, 401(k) plans, pension plans, and other retirement plans are not eligible for the tax-free treatment.
Directly to the Charity. Distributions must be made directly from the IRA by the trustee and be payable to the public charity.
No Gifts in Return. In order to qualify for tax-free treatment as charitable IRA rollover, donors cannot receive any goods or services in return.
Written Receipt. Donors must obtain written substantiation of each IRA rollover contribution from each recipient charity in order to benefit from the tax-free treatment.
If you have already received your 2010 required minimum distribution for 2010, the wording of the new law does not indicate the distribution may be undone and resent directly to charity. You may still make a charitable donation of that distribution, but the distribution will count as income, increasing your Adjusted Gross Income and therefore your Modified AGI and the gift will provide an offsetting charitable tax deduction. This increase in AGI can have an impact on other parts of your tax return. You may also make additional IRA distributions directly to charity through January, 2011 and have them count toward the maximum $100,000 for tax year 2010. Please contact your tax advisor for specific tax guidance.
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