Last summer, President Bush signed into law the new Pension Protection Act which contained a provision, effective through the end of 2007, that allows eligible individuals to make outright tax-free gifts from their IRA’s directly to non-profits like the Central Park Conservancy.

As you may already know, when you take money out of your retirement account yourself, or ultimately leave it to your heirs, the withdrawals are subject to income tax.  Under the new law, you can direct your IRA account administrator to make a distribution (i.e. rollover) to a non-profit and avoid the taxes you would have otherwise had to pay on the withdrawal.  Additionally, your IRA charitable rollover will satisfy all or part of your required minimum distribution for the year of the withdrawal.

Certain restrictions apply:

• IRA charitable rollovers can be made only from traditional or Roth IRAs
• You must be 70 1/2 years of age or older
• Tax benefits apply for gifts up to $100,000 per person per year
• IRA charitable rollovers do not qualify for income tax deductions
• IRA charitable rollovers can be made in 2006 and 2007 only

To make a charitable distribution from your IRA, all you need do is contact the institution that administers your account before the December 31, 2007 deadline and tell them that you’d like to make a “charitable IRA rollover” directly to a non-profit of your choice.  The check should not come to you.  It’s that simple.

For more information on tax-free IRA rollovers, please call the Conservancy’s Office of Planned Giving at  212-310-6645 or e-mail plannedgiving@centralparknyc.org.

This material is not meant to provide tax or legal advice. 
Please consult your IRA administrator or tax professional before
making any decision regarding IRA charitable rollovers.
Other restrictions may apply.