Text Box: When planning your charitable gifts, there’s a new option that can pay big dividends at tax time. Under the Pension Protection Act of 2006, and for a limited time, owners of individual retirement accounts who have attained age 70 ½ can make charitable gifts directly from their plans completely tax-free! Prior law dictates that individuals who make withdrawals from their IRAs and donate them to charitable organizations must include the taxable portion of the withdrawal in their gross income. They could then claim a charitable deduction for the amount of their gift. Although this sounds relatively simple, it can add complexity and create additional taxes. The new law removes these obstacles by allowing qualifying IRA owners to exclude “qualified charitable distributions” from their gross income. Text Box: The Charitable IRA Rollover Text Box: A New Opportunity for Giving Text Box: North Suffolk Mental Health Association

New Legislation allows individuals aged 70 1/2 or older to make tax-free charitable gifts directly from their IRA