Position Statement

INDEPENDENT SECTOR Policy Position on the IRA Charitable Rollover

Under current law, when making a contribution to charity from an Individual Retirement Account account, an IRA owner must include the withdrawal in income and claim an offsetting charitable deduction. For large contributions to charity from IRAs, this creates the possibility that individuals will not be able to deduct the full value of the contribution because of the limits on the percentage of one’s income that may be deducted for charitable contributions. Thus, the IRA charitable rollover proposal provides that charitable contributions may be made directly to a charity, without considering that amount as part of one’s income, thereby simplifying and stimulating increased giving from IRAs to charity.

INDEPENDENT SECTOR supports the IRA charitable rollover in order to allow those with resources in IRA’s to make contributions to charitable organizations with no adverse tax consequences. This proposal will encourage additional charitable giving and it will be particularly important for individuals of substantial means, who have a special leadership responsibility to give, to increase their giving.

Adopted by the INDEPENDENT SECTOR Board of Directors, March 2001

Download INDEPENDENT SECTOR's Guiding Principles for Public Policy on Charitable Giving (PDF--49KB) Press Release

INDEPENDENT SECTOR Policy Position Statements on:
Estate Tax and Charitable Bequests
Charity Tax Credits
Charitable Deduction for Nonitemizers