Planned Giving: Give Beyond Your Lifetime

Once IRA holders reach their seventies (the actual age depends on their birthdate), the government requires that they withdraw a specified amount each year from their IRA. However, as an alternative to these required minimum distributions, the government allows IRA holders to contribute directly to approved non-profits like Interserve from their IRA account.

Through these qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), IRA holders meet the withdrawal requirements but avoid receiving the funds as personal income. Although these contributions do not qualify as tax deductions, many donors find them advantageous in lowering their total tax bill. For individuals who do not need the income and want to avoid additional tax consequences, QCDs provide a convenient way to fund their contributions to Interserve and maximize their giving potential.

• Contact your IRA administrator and let them know your plans.
• Ask your financial institution to make a check from your retirement fundpayable to Interserve USA and send it to us at P.O. Box 418, Upper Darby, PA 19082.
• Let our finance team know your contribution is coming so they can provide you appropriate financial documentation. Please send an email to [email protected].

As stewards in God’s kingdom, we can leverage these tax incentives to advance the Lord’s work while also providing for our families. If you’d like to transfer stock and need help or guidance, please contact us.

One retired minister instructed that his estate be tithed and the funds given to the overseas workers he had shepherded. Carrying out his request, his family was astounded to find that many of the recipients reported they had been praying specifically for funds of the amount they received. Hearing those reports blessed his descendants and grew their faith. If you’d like to make an impact like this, we’d be happy to talk with you! For help with this, please contact us.

Let’s say, for instance, you have 500 acres of appreciated farmland you want to sell. Prior to entering into a sale agreement, you could gift 250 acres to ministry. Then you and the ministry would sell the property together. You would receive a tax deduction for the fair market value of your gift and avoid 50% of your capital gains tax upon sale. These tax savings could then be used to help offset, or possibly eliminate, the capital gains tax on the portion of the property you kept for yourself.

Using the scenario above, you could also gift all or part of the farmland into a charitable trust and sell the land in the tax-free environment of the trust. The trust would be designed to pay you income for life or a term of years. When the trust terminates, the funds remaining in it become a gift to your favorite ministries. Through this gifting option, you also avoid the capital gains tax and receive a charitable deduction for your generous gift.

All to say – you have options! If you’d like to learn more, please contact us.

If you’d like to learn more about how to make a lasting contribution while simultaneously caring for your loved ones, please contact us. We’d love to connect you to estate planning experts who, as our gift to you, can provide a free consultation on your options.