If you’re taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) from your Individual Retirement Account (IRA), you may already know that using your RMD to make a direct contribution to a charity, like Drexel University or the College of Medicine, offers significant tax advantages. A qualified charitable distribution (QCD) from your IRA allows you to meet your RMD requirements without adding to your taxable income. This can potentially keep you in a lower tax bracket and allow you to avoid phaseouts of certain tax deductions that could increase your tax liability.
But maybe you didn’t know this: if you’ve already taken your RMD for 2023 and would now like to use it to make a QCD instead, you may be in luck.
The IRS allows IRA accountholders 60 days from the time they receive their RMD to deposit the money back into their IRA without incurring a taxable event. Once the funds are back in your account, you can then request that your IRA administrator direct your RMD to Drexel as a QCD to support whatever department or program you choose.
Here’s an example: Recently, I was contacted by an alumnus who wanted to use his RMD to make a gift to Drexel and, by mistake, had the payment sent to himself. He was resigned to the fact that this would increase the amount he would owe in income taxes for 2023 and was prepared to write a personal check to Drexel for the gift. However, since he shared the situation with me within 60 days of receiving the distribution, I let him know that he could return the money to his IRA and then initiate a QCD to Drexel. He was thrilled to know that this action would allow him to avoid paying income tax on the distribution and make his intended gift to support the University!
It's important to remember that the entire amount of the distribution must be redeposited within 60 days to avoid taxes and penalties, even if taxes were already withheld. Additionally, if you wish to utilize the 60-day rule, it is important that you keep documentation about both the re-deposit of your RMD and the QCD you made, as any distribution from a retirement account will generate a 1099-R form that must be reported as income on your tax return. Be sure to notify your tax preparer.
To learn more, contact David Toll, JD, senior associate vice president in Drexel’s Office of Gift Planning at giftplanning@drexel.edu or (215) 895-1882.