More financial giving options- donate to the downriver council for the arts through your IRA Required Minimum Distribution

Money from an individual retirement account can be donated to charity. In addition, if you've reached the age where you need to make required minimum distributions (RMDs) from your traditional IRAs, you can avoid paying taxes on them by donating that money to charity.

Your financial advisor can set this up for you

Normally, a distribution from a traditional IRA incurs taxes since the account holder didn’t pay taxes on the money when they put it into the IRA. But account holders 70 1/2 or older who make a contribution directly from a traditional IRA to a qualified charity can donate up to $100,000 without it being considered a taxable distribution. The deduction effectively lowers the donor's adjusted gross income (AGI).

Taxpayers whose annual income affects their Medicare premiums might also find this provision helps control the premium cost.

The donation can also help meet all or part of the IRA’s required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year.

Notably, owners of traditional IRAs must start taking RMDs at age 72 or face tax penalties. Roth IRAs do not require distributions while the account holder is living so this provision doesn't work for them.

Using an IRA to make a charitable donation can help lower a tax bill and help a worthy cause. Distributions must be made directly to the charity, not to the owner or beneficiary. All distribution checks need to be made payable to the charity or they will be counted as taxable distributions.