By Jim Andreano • Fundraising Committee Chair
Are you over age 70 ½?
If not, we congratulate you on your relative youth. You are free to jump down to the final paragraph of this article.
If you are still here, we congratulate you on having attained your current age. Not everyone is afforded that privilege. As a senior, various benefits are made available to you. One of which you may be unaware is the qualified charitable distribution (QCD).
The QCD is an IRS-approved mechanism available to an individual retirement account (IRA) owner, age 70 ½ or older, who is taking distributions. Such a person can direct their IRA trustee to make a distribution directly to a recognized 501(c)(3) charity. The charity that immediately comes to mind, of course, is Sierra Club Foundation, with the proceeds flowing to the NJ Chapter.
We will gratefully thank you for your donation, and your tax accountant will be impressed by your savvy. Here’s why: The QCD is fully tax deductible—even if you do not itemize deductions (like the large majority of New Jerseyans).
Conversely, if you took an ordinary IRA distribution and then donated that entire amount to a qualified charity, you might still face some tax liability on the underlying IRA distribution, depending on your tax bracket and other factors.
A QCD may be your only way to accrue a 100% tax benefit from your generosity!
A further bonus: If you are of the age where you must take mandatory distributions from your IRA, the QCD counts against that requirement. Although the distribution goes to your favorite charity, you still get the credit for tax purposes.
For more information on how to make a qualified charitable distribution to Sierra Club Foundation from your IRA, please contact Paul Sanderson at treasurer@newjersey.sierraclub.org or 908-233-2414.
Regardless of your age or whether you hold an IRA, your donations to the Sierra Club NJ Chapter are always essential and always appreciated. We will be conducting one of our three annual fundraising appeals in March, and you may be hearing from us then. Or, you may donate at any time by visiting https://www.sierraclub.org/new-jersey and clicking the red DONATE button.
As always, thank you for your continued support.