Public Policy
IRA Charitable Rollover
Resource Center
Restoring the IRA Charitable Rollover
The IRA charitable rollover was a tax incentive in effect in 2006 and 2007 that allowed individuals aged 70½ and older to donate up to $100,000 from their Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and Roth IRAs to public charities without having to count the distributions as taxable income. Because the provision expired on December 31, 2007, it will take Congressional action to restore it.
Current Status
Legislation, S. 2886, to extend the IRA charitable rollover through 2009 was introduced April 17 by Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-IA), as a part of a package of expired and expiring tax incentives. Passage of the bill, known as the “extenders package,” could occur before Memorial Day recess. It is Chairman Baucus’ stated intention to pass a revenue neutral bill, meaning that tax hikes and spending cuts will be included to offset the cost of the tax incentives. Independent Sector issued a statement and the IRA Charitable Coalition sent a letter, each in support of the inclusion of the IRA Rollover in S. 2886.
Now is the time to let Senators know that the IRA charitable rollover can have a direct and immediate impact in the lives of their constituents and communities. We urge you to take action today by contacting your Senators and asking them to pass the paid-for extenders package before Memorial Day. See Take Action below for things you can do right now to help make this happen.
Separate bills have been introduced in the House and Senate to extend ( H.R.3596, S.2264 ) or expand ( S.819, H.R.1419 ) the IRA charitable rollover measure, but none is expected to be taken up separately from other tax provisions in this session of Congress. Recently, as part of the nonbinding Budget Resolution for fiscal year 2009, the Senate included a call for enacting the IRA rollover. This encouraging language is not in the House Budget Resolution and the difference will have to be worked out in a conference committee.
Why We Support It
Since enactment in August 2006, the IRA charitable rollover generated a significant amount of new charitable giving by eliminating the barrier in the tax law that had discouraged transfers from individual retirement accounts to charities. The giving incentive was particularly beneficial to those individuals who do not itemize their tax deductions and would not otherwise have received any tax benefit for their charitable contributions . The IRA charitable rollover enabled older Americans to make millions of dollars of new contributions to the nonprofits —including hospitals, museums, educational institutions, and religious organizations —that benefit people every day.
Take Action
We encourage IS members to urge their members of Congress to include the IRA rollover in 2008 legislation, retroactive to January 1. Here are three things you can do to make a difference:
- Send a Letter to your Senators and Representative
Senators and Representatives need to know that people back home really do care about issues, and a thoughtful letter with real life experiences is still one of the most effective ways of communicating with policymakers. Click here for a sample letter that can be tailored to fit your organization. Please share with us any response you get.
- Talk to your Senators and Representatives
A telephone call or in-person discussion with policymakers or their staff can help demonstrate the impact of the IRA charitable rollover on the lives of their constituents and make clear the urgency with which they must act to restore the legislation. Here are talking points you can use to bring the point home. Let us know what they have to say by dropping us an email at publicpolicy@independentsector.org.
- Send us your IRA charitable rollover success stories
Help us demonstrate how donations through IRA charitable rollovers have transformed lives and improved communities by e-mailing us at publicpolicy@independentsector.org.
If your organization operates in states represented by members of the conference committee on the Budget Resolution, it would be helpful to send those conferees a letter urging that they include special language calling for extension of the IRA charitable rollover. A sample letter on the budget is available here.
Click here for Background Materials
Last updated: April 17, 2008
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