St. Clair County Historical Society is an IRS 501 (c) (3) corporation, organized and operated for charitable and educational purposes. Endowments and monetary gifts made to the Society are generally tax-deductible. Donations of historic artifacts and memorabilia relevant to St. Clair County history are encouraged and appreciated. Accepted donations are acknowledged with a receipt or letter of appreciation. Donors are encouraged to seek counsel from a tax advisor for specific information on tax deductibility.
The Pension Protection Act
As a result of the extension of the Pension Protection Act through 2011, anyone over the age of 70 ½ can now make an outright gift to a qualified organization, like the St. Clair County Historical Society, requesting a direct transfer of up to $100,000 from an individual retirement account (Traditional or Roth IRA) without paying taxes on this distribution. If it is done correctly, the distributions are tax-free and not included as ordinary income. Distributions also count toward an individual’s Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) for the year.
Here is how it works:
- The donor must be 70 ½ at the time of transfer. The gift must be made on or after the donor turns 70 ½ to ensure favorable tax for that tax year.
- The transfer must pass directly from the IRA custodian to the qualifying charity.
- The transfer is limited to $100,000 per tax year.
- The transfer must occur before December 31, 2011, when the provision is scheduled to expire.
- The transfer is not limited to 50% of adjusted gross income (AG) like other cash gifts.
- The Act applies only to traditional, rollover, and Roth IRAs, not to other types of plans like 401(k), 457, 403(b), etc. However, funds from the other types of retirement plans may be rolled into a traditional IRA in order to make the gift
- The transfer cannot be made to a donor advised fund or a supporting organization
- The transfer cannot be used to fund a charitable gift annuity or a charitable remainder trust.
