Great News Regarding the IRA Charitable Rollover Extension!

As you think about your year-end gift, you might want to give consideration to your Individual Retirement Account. The IRA Charitable Rollover was extended under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 that President Bush signed into law on October 3, 2008. The Act extends the tax-free treatment of qualified charitable distributions. The extension is retro-active, applying to distributions made throughout both the 2008 and 2009 tax years if the distribution is:

• made to a qualified charitable organization such as Mass Audubon
• made on or after the date you as the IRA owner attains the age of 70 1/2.
• from your Individual Retirement Account or Roth IRA.
• limited to $100,000 per year.
• made directly from your IRA account
• to complete an outright gift

The transferred amount will be excluded from your IRA taxable income and can count towards the minimum required distribution in each of those two years. Although you will not receive an income tax deduction for the transfer, you will not have to pay any income taxes on the amount transferred to charity. This proved to be a very helpful manner of giving for many people in 2007, and it is wonderful to see that Congress and the President decided to offer this opportunity as a means for people to support their favorite charity again.

For information regarding how to complete this gift arrangement, please contact: Betsy Watson, director of Planned Giving, 208 South Great Road, Lincoln, MA 01773; bwatson@massaudubon.org; 781-259-2131.