IRA $100,000 Charitable Withdrawal through 12/31/14

By:  Julie Frey.

If you are chairtably inclined and wish to use some of your IRA to fund your charitable donations, the Senate has just passed an extension of some “tax extenders” that were in place in 2013.  It is anticipated that President Obama will sign the bill in the next few days.  What does this mean for you?  It means that if you are 70 1/2 years of age or older you can take up to $100,000 in tax-free distributions from your IRA in 2014 provided that the funds withdrawn are given to an eligible public charity.  While one cannot also take a deduction for that contribution, the money won’t count as income.  Once President Obama signs the bill into law, you will only have a few weeks to act, so contact your advisors now to alert them to your intention to make the withdraw and charitable contribution.  The ability to do this ends on December 31, 2014. read more

Time To Think About Your Form 990 – What does is say about your charitable organization?

It’s almost that time of year, again…time to start thinking about your non-profit’s Form 990 filing for the 2013 tax period. These information returns are due the 15th day of the 5th month after the end of an organization’s accounting period. For calendar year organizations, that date is May 15, 2014. You can obtain an automatic 3 month extension by submitting Form 8868. You can subsequently use the same form to apply for an additional 3 month extension if needed. read more

Give to your charity of choice or the IRS

By:  Julia Frey.  The income tax bill for 2013 may be a rude awakening for many people. Even if you had the same amount of income in 2013 as you did in 2012, your tax bill WILL increase and may increase by a significant amount; some pundits opine a minimum of 7%. Remember, that income taxes can go up to 39.6% and capital gains taxes have increased for high income wage earners. There may also be an additional 3.8% Medicare tax on investment income. Itemized deductions have also been reduced for high income earners. read more