Oregon congressman touts charitable rollover

Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer is co-sponsoring a bill that would expand and make permanent the IRA charitable rollover that helps donors make charitable gifts from their retirement assets.

Conrad Teitell, volunteer counsel for the American Council on Gift Annuities, wrote recently to the House Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures, asking the subcommittee to act on the bill now. The rollover provision expired Dec. 31, 2011. Passage of the bill is important, he said, because it “helps the Americans served by our nation’s charities — provides for housing assistance, feeding the hungry, education, medical services and thousands of other services that American citizens need.”

Under the charitable rollover, “an individual age 70½ or older can make outright (direct) charitable gifts from an IRA — including required minimum distributions — of up to $100,000 to public charities (other than donor-advised funds and supporting organizations) and not have to report the IRA distributions as taxable income on his or her federal income tax return,” Teitell wrote. “A charitable deduction is not allowable for the amount transferred to charity from an IRA, but the donor is not taxable on the amount transferred — up to $100,000. Not being taxable on income that would otherwise be taxable is the equivalent of a charitable deduction.”

“Charitable giving is one of the main ways that Americans can give back to their communities,” Blumenauer said. “Making the IRA charitable rollover permanent will help donors support charitable foundations to fulfill their missions at a more robust level and with a greater sense of involvement. This legislation will strengthen charities across the country at a time when our communities need them more than ever.”

Blumenauer represents Oregon’s Third Congressional District, which covers most of Multnomah County, including Portland, and part of Clackamas County.

The full text of Teitell’s letter to the House subcommittee is here.

An earlier post, Make IRA charitable rollover permanent: It’s a winner, is here.

Photo: Rep. Earl Blumenauer