Smart Giving from your IRA

Smart Giving from your IRA

A Tax-Saving Way to Help the IU School of Liberal Arts

Make a difference today and save on taxes. It’s possible when you support the IU School of Liberal Arts through your IRA.

A Special Opportunity for Those 70½ Years Old and Older

If you are 70½ years of age or older and have a traditional individual retirement account (IRA), you can make an immediate impact at the IU School of Liberal Arts through an IRA Charitable Rollover Gift, which may provide a tax benefit that lowers your adjusted gross income. With recent changes to the tax laws regarding traditional IRAs, owners of these accounts can make qualified charitable distributions of up to $100,000 in the calendar year.

An IRA Charitable Rollover allows you to:     

  • Avoid taxes on transfers of up to $100,000 from your IRA.
  • Satisfy your required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year.
  • Reduce your taxable income, even if you do not itemize deductions.
  • Make a gift that is not subject to the deduction limits on charitable gifts.
  • Help further the work and mission of the IU School of Liberal Arts.

For your gift to qualify:

  • You must be 70½ years of age or older at the time of your gift. Required Minimum Distribution age was raised to 73.
  • The transfer must be made from your IRA directly to Indiana University.
  • Your total annual IRA Charitable Rollover gift(s) cannot exceed $100,000 in the calendar year of the gift. The $100,000 amount is tied to inflation and may change each year.
  • Your gift to Indiana University must be completed by December 31 in the year you want the tax benefit.
  • Your gift must be outright. Gifts from your IRA to donor-advised funds or life-income vehicles such as charitable gift annuities or charitable remainder trusts do not qualify as IRA Charitable Rollover gifts.
  • With the new IRA Rollover rules, you can do a once in a lifetime additional $50,000 to a Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA) or Charitable Remainder Unitrust (CRUT).

For those 59½ years old or older

If you’re at least 59½ years old, you can take a distribution and then make a gift from your IRA without penalty. If you itemize your deductions, you can take a charitable deduction for the amount of your gift.

At any age

No matter your age, you can designate Indiana University as the beneficiary of all or a percentage of your IRA and it will pass to us tax-free after your lifetime. It’s simple, contact your IRA administrator for a change-of-beneficiary form or download a form from your provider’s website.

We’re here to help

It’s important to let us know of your gift because many popular retirement plan administrators assume no obligation to notify a charity of your designation. The administrator also will not monitor whether your gift designations are followed.

We would love to talk to you about how to set up a rollover gift from your retirement assets, answer any questions, and thank you for your generosity. Please contact Liz Goodfellow at lgoodfel@iupui.edu or 317-274-1496.

Information contained herein was accurate at the time of posting. It is not intended as legal or tax advice. For such advice, please consult an attorney or tax advisor. References to tax rates include federal taxes only and are subject to change. State law may further impact your individual results.