Tax Relief Act of 2010 Part 1 - Charitable IRA Rollovers

Posted on January 7, 2011 by Bryan Howard

On December 17, 2010, the President signed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (“Act”). In addition to extending the so-called “Bush” income tax cuts for two years, the Act made several significant changes to estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes. This article is the first of a series summarizing various provisions of the Act.

The Act extended for 2010 and 2011 the ability of taxpayers who are at least 70½ years of age to transfer $100,000 per year from their IRA to charity. If you missed this opportunity in 2010 and may want to give more than $100,000 during 2011, you can do so if you act by January 31, 2011. There is a special provision that allows you to use the amount you didn’t use in 2010 during January 31 of 2011. Assume, for example, that you made a Charitable IRA Rollover of $20,000 on December 28, 2010. You can give as much as $180,000 in 2011. However, at least $80,000 of the 2011 Rollover must occur on or before January 31, 2011. You would then be able to give the other $100,000 any time during the year.

If the most that you would give in 2011 is $100,000, then you do not need to worry about the January 31 deadline. If you might give more than $100,000 this year, then you should roll over part of the gift before the end of January. For example, if you might give $150,000 this year, you should give at least $50,000 by January 31.

Before making a Charitable IRA Rollover, you should investigate making a Synthetic Charitable IRA Gift. The Synthetic Gift technique also helps those who do not qualify for a Charitable IRA Rollover or do not like some of the restrictions imposed with respect to Charitable IRA Rollovers.

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Year End Planning in Light of Pending Tax Bill

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Bryan Howard

On December 15, 2010, the Senate passed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 by a vote of 81-19. The Bill’s fate now rests in the hands of the House of Representatives. If the Bill is enacted as drafted, there are a few transactions that will be treated more favorably if they are completed during 2010.

1. Gifts to grandchildren are treated more favorably in 2010 because you do not have to allocate Generation Skipping Transfer Tax exemption to the gift. However, if you are making a taxable gift and you have already used your $1 million federal gift tax exemption, you should wait until next year when the gift tax exemption increases to $5 million.

2. Transfers to grandchildren from non-exempt trusts are not subject to GST tax in 2010. In general, this is advisable when the trust will be subject to GST tax upon the child’s death and the child has other resources.

3. Gifts to children should be postponed until next year in order to benefit from the increased gift tax exemption (from $1 million to $5 million).

4. Due to income tax rates staying the same in 2011 and 2012, you should evaluate making a Roth IRA conversion in December of 2010 as compared to January of 2011. If you make the conversion this year, you will be able to pay the income taxes from the conversion as follows: 62.5% on April 15, 2012, 12.5% on June 15, 2012, 12.5% on September 15, 2012, and 12.5% on January 15, 2013. You will have the ability to recharacterize the conversion until October 15, 2011. Alternatively, if you make the conversion in January, 2011, you must pay 100% of the tax on April 15, 2012. However, you will have the ability to recharacterize the Roth IRA to a regular IRA until October 15, 2012. As a general rule, the ability to recharacterize the conversion for the longer time period is more valuable than the ability to postpone 37.5% of the tax for a few extra months. Therefore, I am advising my clients to wait until January unless they expect material appreciation of their IRA between now and January.

5. Those of you who are at least 70½ years of age will be able to distribute up to $100,000 of the required minimum distribution from your IRA to charity. You should compare this option with the Synthetic Charitable IRA Gift technique which can be used even if the Bill does not pass or if you are younger than 70½.

The recommendations herein are dependent upon the Bill getting passed substantially in the form approved by the Senate. If the Bill does not get passed in its current form, these planning recommendations will need to be revisited. Stay tuned, and try to keep your options open for last minute planning.
 

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Synthetic Charitable IRA Gift™

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Bryan Howard

For the last four years, IRA owners who are over age 70.5 have been able to make charitable gifts from their IRA of up to $100,000 per year. This law has been extended before and Congress is currently working on another extension for 2010. Congress’ willingness to continue extending this law is attributable to the popularity of this technique.

Even if Congress extends the law, there may be a better way to make a gift to charity. Here’s how it works: Step 1: Determine how much you want to give to charity from your IRA. Step 2: Make the gift to charity from your non-IRA assets. For example, you could give highly appreciated securities or real estate. Step 3: Convert the same amount of your IRA to a Roth IRA.

The income from the Roth conversion will be offset by the charitable income tax deduction so that the net effect on your income taxes is neutral. Income tax neutrality is consistent with a direct gift to charity from your IRA. However, the synthetic gift has the additional effect of converting appreciated securities from your taxable portfolio into a Roth IRA where you will never pay taxes on the appreciation or the earnings of the securities.

There are 3 other benefits of the synthetic gift technique. You are not limited to a charitable gift of $100,000 per year. You can make a gift to your private foundation or donor advised fund. This is not possible with a direct gift from the IRA.  Finally, if you have not yet attained age 70.5, you are not eligible to make a direct gift from your IRA.  The synthetic gift technique has no age limit.

There is a potential pitfall with this technique. There are complicated income tax rules that affect the timing and amount of your charitable income tax deductions. Make sure your CPA examines the consequences before you make a synthetic charitable IRA gift™.
 

A synthetic charitable IRA gift™ may be a better choice for you than a charitable IRA rollover because it provides money to charity and allows you to convert a portion of your taxable portfolio to a Roth IRA. 

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