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Tax Reduction Strategy: Qualified Charitable Distribution

February 13, 2017

Save money by changing the way you donate to charity!

You can avoid reporting IRA distributions as income. If you are 70 ½ and your charitable contributions come directly from your IRA, the distribution is not reported as income. However, you do not receive a deduction for donations of up to $100,000.

Tax savings for those who don’t itemize deductions:

Eliminate taxable income from IRA distributions that go directly to a charitable organization.

  • If you write a check to a charity and don’t itemize, you don't get a deduction.
  • If you have your IRA distribution go directly to the charity, the IRA distribution is not taxed.

Tax savings for higher income taxpayers:

Eliminate taxable income from IRA distributions that go directly to a charitable organization:

  • Reduces your income to reduce the phase out of itemized deductions.
    - The phase out reduces your charitable deduction, as well as all itemized deductions.
  • Reduces your income to reduce the phase out of personal exemptions.
  • Reduces or avoids net investment income tax by not including your charitable IRA distributions in your income.
    - Taxpayers who have income over $250,000
    - Avoids the 3.8 net investment income tax
  • Reduce income to possibly avoid or reduce AMT (alternative minimum tax).

Tax savings for lower income taxpayers:

Eliminate taxable income from IRA distributions that go directly to a charitable organization:

  • Reduces social security taxation for those taxpayers whose IRA distribution income could make their social security benefits taxable.

Call us at 724-942-3340 to discuss how strategies like this can benefit your tax and financial situation.