Are you over the age of 70 or have parents/loved ones who are? If you’ve been considering a gift to charity, consider giving from your IRA! In addition to considering a gift to Bethel, consider the strategy below for your other favorite charities. And please pass this along to your loved ones!

 

After going back and forth with this issue for the past 5 years, the IRS now allows anyone over age 70 ½ to give up to $100,000 from their traditional IRA to a charity with no federal income tax consequences, AND this distribution can satisfy all or part of your Required Minimum Distribution!

 

Let’s use an example: The Vander Jones, a married couple, both age 75, are in the 25% tax bracket. Their standard deduction for income taxes is $15,100 and they typically have itemized deductions of $6,000. When filing taxes, they typically choose the standard deduction over itemized deductions as it’s much larger. In 2016, they decide to give a $10,000 gift from an IRA to their favorite charities.

 

Let’s look at how this plays out.

 

 

Questions? The donation from the IRA to the charity must be done with care, so be sure to talk with a financial professional and/or tax accountant before taking action. If you have additional questions, feel free to contact a member of the Stewardship Committee: Allen Mulder, Harold Schiebout, Lou Ann Franken, Ron Fedders, Tom De Jong, Vonda Post.