Many of us reach for our checkbooks or credit cards when we want to make a gift to an organization we love and support. No matter what your age, you have another easy and impactful way to give to charity…through your IRA.
If you have a 401(k), 403(b) or other retirement account, you’ve been asked to name beneficiaries. Left to anyone other than a spouse, these funds are subject to complicated inheritance rules and taxes. However, they can be the easiest way to leave a legacy for a cause that’s important to you. By naming Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh as a primary, partial or contingent beneficiary when you pass away, funds from your IRA are not subject to taxes and will go directly to supporting library services for the next generation. It only takes a moment to log into your account and update this information. No matter who you decide to name as a beneficiary, now is a good time to review your account and make sure these forms are current, complete and accurate.
If you’re currently 72 or older, your traditional IRA provides a simple, tax-savvy way to make annual gifts to non-profits. One Library donor explains it this way:
“… When you donate to charities directly from your IRA, the entire amount is not considered income and is not taxable. For example, I send monthly checks from my IRA to eighteen charities totaling $9,480 for the year. That’s a sizable amount, 12% of my annual income, that is never taxed and I don’t itemize deductions.”
On the other hand, when you turn 72 (it was 70 1/2 up until the SECURE Act of 2019) you are required to take Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from your retirement accounts. That money counts as income and will be taxed. If you’re feeling comfortable without the additional funds from your RMD and intend to make annual gifts to the Library, why not follow this donor’s example and talk to your IRA custodian to make giving simple and tax-smart?
Information you will need to know:
Name: Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
STATUS: 501(c)3
TAX ID: 25-0965281
Address: 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
For more information, please visit the Library’s IRA giving page and contact Anne Lee, Manager of Special Gifts and Planned Giving at leeanne@carnegielibrary.org or 412-325-0056. We also encourage you to talk to a professional financial advisor and visit the IRS’s website.