Making a Tax-Free Gift through Your IRA

Are you charitably minded and have a significant amount of money in an IRA? If you are 70 1⁄2 or older, you may benefit by giving these amounts to charity. Please consider taking advantage of this simple way to benefit the Wyoming Catholic College community, and receive substantial tax benefits in return. And if you are 72 or older and have to take a required minimum distribution, a donation from your IRA counts towards this distribution.

You can give up to $100,000 from your IRA directly to a qualified charity such as the College without having to pay income taxes on the money. This popular gift option is commonly called the IRA charitable rollover, but you may also see it referred to as a qualified charitable distribution, or QCD for short.

To learn more, see links below or contact Joseph Susanka in the Office of Advancement
at (307) 335-4466 or jsusanka@wyomingcatholic.edu.

While QCDs are exempt from federal income taxes, other traditional IRA distributions are taxable (either wholly or partially depending on whether you’ve made any nondeductible contributions over the years).

Unlike regular charitable donations, QCDs can’t be claimed as itemized deductions.

Keeping the donation out of your AGI may be important because doing so can:

Help the donor qualify for other tax breaks (for example, a lower AGI can reduce the threshold for deducting medical expenses, which are only deductible to the extent they exceed 10% of AGI);

Reduce taxes on your Social Security benefits; and

Help you avoid a high-income surcharge for Medicare Part B and Part D premiums, (which kicks in if AGI hits certain levels).

In addition, keep in mind that charitable contributions don’t yield a tax benefit for those individuals who no longer itemize their deductions (because of the larger standard deduction under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act). So those who are age 70½ or older and are receiving RMDs from IRAs may gain a tax advantage by making annual charitable contributions via a QCD from an IRA. This charitable contribution will reduce RMDs by a commensurate amount, and the amount of the reduction will be tax-free.

There is a $100,000 limit on total QCDs for any one year. But if you and your spouse both have IRAs set up in your respective names, each of you is entitled to a separate $100,000 annual QCD limit, for a combined total of $200,000.

Ask your IRA administrator about making a direct transfer to Wyoming Catholic College or have the administrator send a check from your account to us. (To be tax free, the donation must go directly from your account to Wyoming Catholic College without passing through your hands.)

Legal Name: Wyoming Catholic College
Address: 306 Main Street, Lander, Wyoming 82520
Federal Tax ID Number: 83-0434307

The tax consequences of IRA disbursements will vary depending on your financial situation. As with all charitable donations, we encourage you to seek the advice of your financial or legal advisor if you have any questions. Wyoming Catholic College is a 501 (c)(3) organization, and all donations are tax deductible. The College’s EIN/Tax ID is 83-0434307, and its tax exempt status Determination Letter Number is 50623603.