Donors who are 70 1/2 or older and have a traditional IRA are eligible to make tax-free contributions to the Entertainment Community Fund from directly these accounts, known as Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs). Since the money is going directly to the Fund, it won’t be taxed as it would have if you had just withdrawn it from your account.
At age 73 you become subject to what’s called the Required Minimum Distribution or RMD (the IRS-determined minimum amount you must withdraw from your account each year). If you make a QCD to the Fund, that amount can be counted towards your IRA and you won’t be forced to pay income tax on it. You may contribute more than your RMD to charity as long as you do not exceed $100,000 in a calendar year.
In basic terms: the Entertainment Community Fund gets a generous gift, and you lower your tax-liability!
This type of gift used to mean a lot of time spent coordinating with your financial advisor. But we’ve partnered with FreeWill, who has created a free tool that makes the process of donating to the Entertainment Community Fund from your IRA quick and efficient.
For more information about QCDs, please get in touch with:
Jay Haddad, Manager of Principal & Planned Giving
jhaddad@entertainmentcommunity.org
917.281.5928
