IRA Charitable Transfers And The Heroes To Heroes Foundation

Summary: Congress is enacting permanent extensions of certain tax benefits for individual Americans that to this point have been temporary. The bill, expected to pass next week, is known as ‘The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015‘, or PATH!

One of the most popular provision allows IRA charitable transfers that helps charities while at the same time lowering the tax liability for many older Americans.

How You Qualify For IRA Charitable Transfers:

This provision in the new bill allows IRA owners 70½ and older to donate as much as $100,000 of account assets a year directly to one or more charities, such as schools, health care groups or churches.

The donations count as part of the IRA owner’s required annual withdrawal—so if the owner’s required payout is $25,000 in 2015 and she donates $10,000 of IRA assets to her college and church, she only has to withdraw $15,000 from the IRA.

What Is The Benefit To The Taxpayer?

There’s no tax deduction for the donated assets, but they don’t count as income, either.

The lower income can help charitably minded donors avoid taxes on Social Security benefits, higher Medicare premiums, higher tax brackets, and surtaxes such as the 3.8% net investment income tax.

To qualify for this break, the donation of IRA assets must be to a charity, not a donor-advised fund or grant-making foundation, and the assets must be transferred directly from the IRA custodian, such as a brokerage firm or bank, to the charity.

The law is retroactive to January, so it blesses IRA transfers made earlier this year.

Gifts for 2015 must be made by the year-end s and there can be no benefit back to the taxpayer from the charity, such as a dinner or a favor. (WSJ)

Why Consider Heroes To Heroes Foundation As Your Beneficiary?

Heroes To Heroes Foundation works with military combat veterans who are suffering with PTSD, Moral Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury.

This fantastic 501(c)(3) utilizes a unique and proven methodology that combines spirituality and peer support in conjunction with non-denominational trips to Israel (watch video here).

• With veteran suicides occurring at such an alarming rate (22 a day), HTH addresses the issue in an extremely effective way by combining spirituality with peer support through non-denominational trips to Israel where the veterans are able to finally open-up and begin the process of healing,
• With a goal of ultimately sending 10-15 groups to Israel per year at a cost of approximately $75,000 per trip ($7,500 per veteran), at Heroes To Heroes Foundation donations can actually ‘move the needle’ and really make a difference,
• Over 90 cents of every one dollar donated goes directly to helping these veterans,
• And the final reason is the inspirational story of the co-founder Judy Schaffer that drove her to start this phenomenal organization.

Read Judy’s story at the Heroes To Heroes website here and then, if after consulting with your financial advisor, you would like to learn more about the charity or the mechanics for donating please contact Michael Haltman or Judy Schaffer.

Judy Schaffer:  judy@heroestoheroes.org

Michael Haltman: mhaltman@hallmarkabstractllc.com

Michael Haltman is President of Hallmark Abstract Service in New York. He can be reached at mhaltman@hallmarkabstractllc.com.