Letter to the editor — Charitable Giving

In response to the articles “Charitable Generosity” and “Know The Impact” in the Oct. 18 issue of The Alabama Baptist, I suggest we give greater exposure to QCDs — Qualified Charitable Distributions.

It is important to review all the rules concerning QCDs in IRS Publication 590b and by consulting a tax expert but the general guidelines are that individuals over 70 1/2 years of age may distribute money directly from an IRA to a charitable organization.

The distribution does not count toward reportable income so no offsetting itemization is needed. Distributions from the IRA to the church (or other charitable organization) would replace gifts the individual would have made anyway by minimizing the use of non-qualified funds.

The result could be the avoidance of additional income tax without having to itemize.

Gene Richard Hitchcock Jr.
Certified Financial Planner (R)
Trussville, Ala.