IRA Charitable Rollover Uncertainty Persists

The IRA Charitable Rollover provision, which was established under the 2006 Pension Protection Act, provides an annual exclusion from gross income up to $100,000 for qualified charitable distributions from an IRA.  Therefore, individuals who have reached 70 ½ years of age can donate up to $100,000 to charitable organizations directly from their IRA, without incurring any income tax on the distribution.  Originally enacted as a temporary two-year measure, the provision was extended in two-year increments through December 31, 2013.  The IRA Charitable Rollover provision expired on December 31, 2013, but may be reinstated retroactively.

On July 17, 2014, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4719, The America Gives More Act.  The Act is designed to increase charitable giving, and includes both a retroactive and permanent extension of the IRA Charitable Rollover provision.  However, the Senate has yet to act on the proposed provision, leaving considerable uncertainty