Ways to Give

You can give any amount (up to a maximum of $108,000) per year from your Individual Retirement Account (IRA) directly to a qualified charity, such as St. Gerard Center for Autism, without having to pay income taxes on those funds. This popular gift option is called a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD), but it’s also referred to as an an IRA Charitable Rollover.

These distributions may help satisfy an individual’s required minimum distribution (RMD) for that year. A QCD offers an exclusion from taxable income rather than a deduction, so this strategy is not limited to taxpayers who itemize their deductions. As a result, it may be used by non-itemizing donors who do not ordinarily receive any tax benefit for their charitable gifts.

To benefit from this gift opportunity, the following qualifications (among others) must be met:

• The donor must be age 70 ½ or older at the time of transfer.
• The 2025 annual limit for QCDs is $108,000 per individual, or $216,000 for married couples filing jointly.
• This limit is indexed for inflation starting in 2024, with no minimum amount required.
• The gift must be transferred directly from the IRA account by the IRA administrator to St. Gerard House DBA St. Gerard Center for Autism.
• Donors with check-writing ability for their IRAs may use this feature to complete their gift.

Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)

Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) are minimum amounts that IRA and retirement plan account owners generally must withdraw annually. The SECURE 1.0 & 2.0 Acts raised the age the you must begin taking RMDs from age 70 ½, to age 72 with SECURE 1.0, to age 73 with SECURE 2.0 (73 if you reach age 72 after Dec. 31, 2022). While IRA owners may still make tax-free QCDs beginning at age 70 ½, the QCDs will not also help satisfy their RMDs until they turn 72 (73 if you reach age 72 after Dec. 31, 2022) and are required to take RMDs. In addition, donors must now reduce their QCDs by the amount of any deductible contributions they make to their IRAs after age 70 ½.

Why Consider This Gift?

• Your gift will be put to use today, allowing you to see the difference your donation is making.
• Beginning in the year you turn 73, you can use your gift to satisfy all or part of your required minimum distribution (RMD).
• You pay no income taxes on the gift. The transfer generates neither taxable income nor a tax deduction, so you benefit even if you do not itemize your deductions.
• Since the gift does not count as income, it can reduce your annual income level. This may help lower your Medicare premiums and decrease the amount of Social Security that is subject to tax.

You can use tax-free IRA QCDs to make an outright charitable gift

• Making an unrestricted gift to St. Gerard Center for Autism
• To honor or recognize a friend or loved one
  
  Tip
  It is important to let us know of your gift because many retirement plan administrators assume no obligation to notify a charity of your designation. The administrator also will not monitor whether your gift designations are followed. We would love to talk to you about your intentions to ensure that they are followed. Thank you for your support!

At Any Age
No matter your age, you can designate St. Gerard Center for Autism as the beneficiary of all or a percentage of your IRA, and it will pass to us tax-free after your lifetime. The process is simple and only requires you to contact your IRA administrator for a change-of-beneficiary form; or, you can download a form from your provider’s website.