An Individual Retirement Account (IRA) is a tax-advantaged account, designed to help you save for retirement. If you’re like many people with an IRA, you may find that it is the most significant source of assets accumulated in your lifetime. Congratulations! You worked hard saving and building that nest egg, and now you deserve to live comfortably in your retirement.

But we often talk to friends of Mercy Home who find that, due to other resources and investments, they are not in need of all the funds accumulated in their retirement accounts. In fact, an IRA can sometimes become a tax burden, because after age 72, you must take a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from this account each year. With that distribution comes a tax on your previously untaxed assets, which means less money in your pocket (and more for Uncle Sam).

But there is a way to satisfy your RMD requirements while avoiding tax and supporting your favorite charities, like Mercy Home. This is called a “Qualified Charitable Distribution” (QCD) from your IRA, and it’s easy to accomplish. This type of gift has some terrific tax advantages, and allows you to use your savings in a way that is meaningful to you.

If you are age 70 ½ or older, you can contribute up to $100,000 from your IRA directly to charity, and avoid paying taxes on the distribution. Using the QCD method, you can satisfy all or part of your required minimum distribution, and you can make gifts to as many charities as you’d like. And the best part is that you can continue doing this, year
after year.

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Making a charitable gift from your IRA is as easy as 1, 2, 3:

1. Simply tell your IRA account custodian that you want to make a “Qualified Charitable Distribution” to Mercy Home for Boys & Girls. In order to count as a QCD, this gift must come directly from your IRA to a charity, and not pass through you first.
2. Ensure that your custodian adds your name to the check sent to Mercy Home. We want to thank you for this gift!
3. Contact us at (800) 378-8266 or plannedgift@mercyhome.org to let us know that your gift is on the way—we’d love to tell you how you’re making a difference in our children’s lives!

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Giving from your IRA is one of the easiest ways to lower your tax bill and make a difference in the lives of our kids. Please reach out if you’d like to learn more about these kinds of gifts, or any other way that you can help create a brighter future for the young people at Mercy Home.