I wrote recently about donating IRA money and received a couple questions. So a clarification and a thought. First, this only helps you if you were planning to donate money anyway, I am not promoting any particular charity, nor am I preaching that one should feel compelled to share. That’s certainly a personal decision. There is a financial benefit to you only if A) you were about to make a donation anyway, and B) you only take the standard deduction, so you are unable to take the donation as a charitable deduction, i.e. you have no schedule A.
That said, this great opportunity was only placed into the tax code for 2006 and 2007. You have 3 more months to benefit from this law. Here’s my thought; Both Schwab and Fidelity offer charitable gift funds, which allow you to make a gift to the fund now, and disburse it to the final charity of your choosing at a later date. If you are in a high tax bracket, say 33%, you may take advantage of the law before it goes away, making the donation now, and passing it along over the next two or more years. This suggestion is strictly about tax planning and finding the opportunities within the tax code. All comments are welcome.
JOE