If you are 70½ or older, you can take advantage of an important incentive to contribute to a charity. Congress has reauthorized for 2013 the provision that allows individuals to make gifts of up to $100,000 per year from their IRA accounts to one or more charities, without incurring income tax on the withdrawal. A distribution under this rule is applied to your required minimum distribution.
This means that you can direct that amount to a charity with no federal income tax liability. However, the provision does not allow a contribution deduction. This planning technique is an excellent opportunity to make a charitable contribution during your lifetime from an asset that would be subject to income taxation and possible estate tax if it remained in your taxable estate.
Please contact Larry S. Blair, Esq. at 412-918-1123 for further information.
